Firms raising low-wage pay drops to 67% YoY: survey

Businesses intending to increase wages also fell from 66% to 61%.

The proportion of businesses that raised wages for Lower-Wage Workers (LWWs) over the past 12 months fell to 67% from 69% in 2025, according to the Singapore Business Federation's National Business Survey 2026.

The report also showed that the average wage increase declined from 12% to 11%.

The share of businesses that maintained the same wages rose to 32%, up from 30%.

The proportion of companies that cut wages held steady at 1%, whilst the average wage decrease narrowed significantly from 31% to 19%.

In the next 12 months, businesses that plan to raise LWW wages also dropped to 61% from 66% in 2025, whilst those intending to maintain wages climbed from 34% to 38%.

Amongst businesses planning to raise wages, the average expected increase rose to 11% from 10% in the previous year.

Meanwhile, 1% said they intend to decrease wages, up from 0%, alongside a sharp increase in the average wage decrease to 22% from 18%.

The report, released in September, was based on 319 businesses hiring LWWs.

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