In 2018, Singapore’s household income growth per person has shown slow signs of growth, despite the declining count of residents staying in the same household provided some improvements.
On a monthly basis, the median household income of every working household member was recorded at S$2,792. The Department of Statistics (SingStat) recently cited this had increased at 3.4% on a dollar basis or 3% in real terms brought by the country’s inflation.
However, compared to the 2017 media per capita income, it has declined by 3.9% in real growth.
Looking at the situation, as a whole, families with at least one household member working in 2018 has a real income growth rate of 2.6% or S$9,293 compared with 1.5% real income increase in 2017.
The 2018 figures were a common scenario to most Singaporean families or about nine-tenths of all households in the country.
The median is the half or midpoint in the population. On average, the mean or real growth in 2018 from the previous year was 0.5%.
Those household incomes belonging to the top 11% to 29% earned the highest gains at 4%.
Household income taken from work involved the employers’ Central Provident Funds, excluding other incomes sourced from dividends or rentals. This did not include the maids’ wages.
From the simple explanation of income per household member, using the Gini coefficient, in 2018, a measure of income inequality, was seen at 0.458 compared to 0.459 in the past year.
Getting a zero means there is total income equality while a score of one shows total inequality.
Among 10% of the Singaporean income earners at the bottom of the population, the 2018 average household earnings for every member was about S$570 while those at the upper 10% of the population received S$13,581.
SingStat cited the Gini coefficient plunged to 0.404 after deducting government taxes and transfers, as public schemes provided at an average of S$4,494 to every resident household member.
The government transfers were reduced on average at least S$9 lower, compared to 2017 rate, brought by a decline in the Medishield Life transitional subsidies and no more one-off grants provided like NS50 vouchers.
In the country, around 12.1% of the population belongs to the non-working households, which were mainly caused by the increasing number of ageing Singaporeans.