Resident employed households' median monthly work income surpasses pre-Covid levels

MEDIAN monthly household income from work grew in 2021, with the resident employed households' median climbing 3.6 per cent in nominal terms to S$9,520 from S$9,189 in the previous year.

This exceeds pre-Covid-19 levels, according to the Key Household Income Trends 2021 paper released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Tuesday (Feb 15).

This indicates a real term rise of 1.5 per cent in the median monthly household income from work for resident employed households, which refers to a household where the reference person is a Singapore citizen or permanent resident and with at least 1 person employed.

This also resulted in the median monthly household income from work per household member rising to S$3,027 in 2021, up 4.9 per cent in nominal terms or 2.8 per cent in real terms from S$2,886 in 2020.

From 2016 to 2021, the median monthly household income for resident employed households increased by 4.2 per cent cumulatively, which translates to an annual 0.8 per cent increase in real terms.

Households across nearly all income deciles saw increases in real average household income from work per household member in 2021, although the report noted that not all households will consistently be in the same decile each year.

The average household income from work for each household member increased by 1.7 to 7.3 per cent in nominal terms for resident employed households in all income groups.

After inflation adjustments, households in the first 9 deciles saw real income growth of 0.6 to 5.5 per cent, while those in the top decile saw a real income decline of 1.1 per cent.

The report highlighted that household income inequality fell in 2021 before accounting for government transfers and taxes. 2021 household income from work per household member had a Gini coefficient of 0.444 in 2021, lower than 0.452 in 2019 and 2020.

After accounting for government transfers and taxes, household income inequality was the second lowest since the start of the series in 2000. The Gini coefficient, which is a summary measure of income inequality, fell from 0.444 to 0.386, although this is higher than the 0.375 recorded in 2020.

2020 had a lower Gini coefficient due to various government one-off schemes to cushion the impact of Covid-19, which had mostly ceased in 2020. However, the report observed that households still continued to receive a significant, albeit lower, amount of government transfers in 2021.

All resident households received S$5,096 per household member on average from government schemes in 2021, less than the S$6,324 in 2020. Those living in Housing Board 1 and 2-room flats received the most of such transfers at S$11,363 per household member.

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