Singaporeans in the Workforce

Singaporeans have one of the highest employment rates internationally

The unemployment rate amongst Singapore citizens declined to 3.1% in June 2011, down from a high of 4.5% in 2009 during the recession. The unemployment rate was lower among better educated citizens, as well as older citizens. However, once out of work, older Singaporeans were more likely to stay unemployed longer.

With continued emphasis and investment in education and training, more of our citizens are holding higher skilled jobs today. The median income of Singaporeans has also increased in real terms over the decade. Households at the bottom 20th percentile had more limited real income growth, although still positive. Government transfers, however, had a redistributive effect on household incomes. These are amongst the key findings of an occasional paper by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department and the Singapore Department of Statistics.

For More Information

Please refer to the Occasional Paper available on MOM's Statistics and Publications webpage and our press release.