Median monthly household income from work in 2015 up 4.9% on year in Singapore

THE median monthly household income from work rose to S$8,666 in 2015 from S$8,292 in 2014, up 4.9 per cent in real terms, Singapore's Department of Statistics (DOS) said on Friday.

In its latest paper on "Key Household Income Trends, 2015", DOS said median monthly household income from work per household member recorded 5.4 per cent real growth in 2015.

"The rise in median household income per household member came amidst a tight labour market, as well as an increase in the employer CPF contribution rates in 2015,'' it said.

From 2010 to 2015, the annual growth in real median household income per household member was lower, at 3.6 per cent.

The lowest 20 per cent households had the fastest real income growth, with households in the lowest and second lowest deciles recording growth of 10.7 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively, in part due to on-going initiatives to raise the wages of low wage workers.

This was followed by the top 10 per cent households and the 21st-30th percentile group, with real income growth of 7.2 per cent each. Among the remaining percentile groups, average household income per household member grew by 5.7-6.7 per cent in real terms in 2015.

DOS said the Gini coefficient - a measure of income inequality - was 0.463 in 2015, broadly similar to the 0.464 in 2014 and 0.463 in 2013.

After adjusting for government transfers and taxes, the Gini coefficient in 2015 fell from 0.463 to 0.410, reflecting the redistributive effect of government transfers.