Lower- and middle-income groups outpace others in annual gains, MoF says

MoF data shows bottom-tier households grew nearly 10 times faster than top decile in the past decade.

Resident households in Singapore saw real income growth over the past decade that exceeded inflation, according to the Ministry of Finance’s February 2026 occasional paper on Income Growth, Inequality, and Social Mobility Trends in Singapore.

Lower- and middle-income households recorded higher gains than higher-income groups with annualised growth in household employment income per member from 2015 to 2025 ranged from 3.2% for the second decile to 0.3% for the top decile.

Singapore’s growth was higher than the United Kingdom and Finland over the same period, with the bottom 20th percentile seeing 3.1% annual growth compared with 0.4% in the UK.

Individual employment income also rose across the distribution.

Amongst full-time employed residents, the bottom 10th percentile recorded 2.6% annual growth, the median 2.1%, and the top 10th percentile 1.3%.

The report highlights government labour policies, including the Progressive Wage Model, Workfare Income Supplement, Workfare Skills Support, and the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme, which provide wage support and link pay to skills development.

Resident unemployment remained at 2.8% in 2025, below the OECD average.

Amongst those retrenched in 2024, 60% found new roles with the same or higher wages, up from 52% in 2018. Re-entry rates within 6–18 months stayed above 79% between 2016 and 2024.

Support for displaced workers includes career coaching, job matching, and financial assistance under the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme, which offers up to $6,000 over six months for eligible workers.

The report presents data on household income growth, wage trends, unemployment, and government support programs from 2015 to 2025.

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Ministry of Finance

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