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Jun 30, 2010
Private sector pay dips 0.4%
<!-- by line -->By Lee Jia Xin
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<!--background story, collapse if none-->Managers paid highest
* Attesting to the value of knowledge and skills, the median monthly gross wages in June 2009 was the highest for managers ($6,300), followed by professionals ($4,375) and associate professionals & technicians ($2,940). Clerical workers ($1,918) and sales & service workers ($1,786) were paid less. Reflective of the wage premium paid for skills and craftsmanship among the blue-collar workers, production craftsmen ($2,150) and plant and machine operators ($1,809) were paid more than the cleaners, labourers & related workers ($1,000).
* Wages tend to increase with age as workers gain experience and become more productive over the years. This is reinforced by seniority-based wage systems used in some companies. The pace of wage increase with age was more pronounced among the managerial and professional groups, reflecting the knowledge-intensive nature of their work.
* The wages of non-PMET groups rose more gradually, reaching their peaks in their late thirties and forties. On the other hand, wages of the group of cleaners, labourers & related workers started to decline from their thirties onwards. Advancing age works against workers in manual occupations, given the physical nature of the job.
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The report also found that wage changes were in tandem with the bottomline of companies. The more profitable private firms gave small wage increases of up to 1.9 per cent while the less profitable ones scaled back by 1.6 per cent. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
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WORKERS in the private sector took home less pay last year because of smaller bonuses as business performance was hurt by the economic downturn.
Total wages in the private sector fell by 0.4 per cent, after rising by 4.2 per cent in 2008, as firms cut bonuses by 14 per cent from 2.31 months in 2008 to 1.99 months last year.
Despite this, basic wages still climbed by 1.3 per cent for the year, although this was significantly lower than the 4.4 per cent rise the year before.
These are among the key findings from the Report on Wages in Singapore 2009 released on Wedneday by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department, along with the Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics 2010.
The report also revealed that as at December, some 85 per cent of the workforce in the private sector were employed by firms that have adopted some form of flexible wage system, up marginally from 84 per cent in 2008.
This flexible and performance-based wage system has helped businesses cope with the recession, said MOM
The report also found that wage changes were in tandem with the bottomline of companies. The more profitable private firms gave small wage increases of up to 1.9 per cent while the less profitable ones scaled back by 1.6 per cent. Loss-making firms cut wages by up up to 3.9 per cent.
Labour productivity also contracted by 3.8 per cent last year even as wages rose slightly.
Both reports are available for download at the Ministry's of Manpower's website at www.mom.gov.sg.
<!-- story content : end -->
Private sector pay dips 0.4%
<!-- by line -->By Lee Jia Xin
<!-- end by line -->
<!--background story, collapse if none-->Managers paid highest
* Attesting to the value of knowledge and skills, the median monthly gross wages in June 2009 was the highest for managers ($6,300), followed by professionals ($4,375) and associate professionals & technicians ($2,940). Clerical workers ($1,918) and sales & service workers ($1,786) were paid less. Reflective of the wage premium paid for skills and craftsmanship among the blue-collar workers, production craftsmen ($2,150) and plant and machine operators ($1,809) were paid more than the cleaners, labourers & related workers ($1,000).
* Wages tend to increase with age as workers gain experience and become more productive over the years. This is reinforced by seniority-based wage systems used in some companies. The pace of wage increase with age was more pronounced among the managerial and professional groups, reflecting the knowledge-intensive nature of their work.
* The wages of non-PMET groups rose more gradually, reaching their peaks in their late thirties and forties. On the other hand, wages of the group of cleaners, labourers & related workers started to decline from their thirties onwards. Advancing age works against workers in manual occupations, given the physical nature of the job.
<!--end background story-->
<!-- end left side bar -->
<!-- story content : start -->
WORKERS in the private sector took home less pay last year because of smaller bonuses as business performance was hurt by the economic downturn.
Total wages in the private sector fell by 0.4 per cent, after rising by 4.2 per cent in 2008, as firms cut bonuses by 14 per cent from 2.31 months in 2008 to 1.99 months last year.
Despite this, basic wages still climbed by 1.3 per cent for the year, although this was significantly lower than the 4.4 per cent rise the year before.
These are among the key findings from the Report on Wages in Singapore 2009 released on Wedneday by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department, along with the Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics 2010.
The report also revealed that as at December, some 85 per cent of the workforce in the private sector were employed by firms that have adopted some form of flexible wage system, up marginally from 84 per cent in 2008.
This flexible and performance-based wage system has helped businesses cope with the recession, said MOM
The report also found that wage changes were in tandem with the bottomline of companies. The more profitable private firms gave small wage increases of up to 1.9 per cent while the less profitable ones scaled back by 1.6 per cent. Loss-making firms cut wages by up up to 3.9 per cent.
Labour productivity also contracted by 3.8 per cent last year even as wages rose slightly.
Both reports are available for download at the Ministry's of Manpower's website at www.mom.gov.sg.
<!-- story content : end -->
