By Wages and bonuses rose in 2011 despite significantly slower economic growth last year.
According to the Report on Wages in Singapore 2011, salaries in the private sector rose by 6.1 per cent compared to a 5.7 per cent growth in 2010.
The rise was attributed to a ‘tight labour market’.
However, after factoring inflation, the increase works out to be 0.9 per cent, lower than 2010’s gain of 2.9 per cent.
The findings, released by the Ministry of Manpower on Friday, said that the real wage increases are ‘in line with labour productivity growth’ here.
Managers were paid the most, with average gross wages of about $6,630 in June last year, while financial and professional services predictably were named as among the top three highest-paying industries.
Technicians came in third, at a monthly median pay of about $3,070.
At the other end of the spectrum were food and beverage industries, as well as employees working in accommodation. Cleaners and labourers took home an average of $1,020 a month.
Bonuses were also fatter for employees in 2011, 8 out of 10 of whom are paid under flexible wage systems.
Bonus packets rose 6.9 per cent from a median of 2.17 months in 2010 to 2.32 months last year.
Gender wage gaps in 2011 were narrower in white-collar jobs, with women aged between 35-39 earning close to or the same salaries as males in professional and sales occupations.
However, the report highlighted that females were more likely to take career breaks to care for family, reducing their work experience and pay in the long run compared to their male counterparts.
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