Singapore's labour force participation rate up to 66.2%

The median monthly income from work of residents in full-time employment up 4.2% to $2,710 in 2010.

Boosted by the strong economic recovery, the proportion of the resident population in employment rebounded to a new high in 2010. The increase in employment rate was broad-based across both prime and older age groups, especially among women. The economic recovery also lifted workers’ incomes, with faster and stronger gains than in the previous recovery. These are the key findings from the comprehensive Labour Force Survey conducted in the middle of 2010 by the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department.

Main Findings

Amid the economic recovery, the proportion of resident population aged 15 & over who participated in the labour market rose to a new high in 2010. The resident labour force participation rate (LFPR) increased from 65.4% in 2009 to 66.2% in 2010. This balanced the dampening effect on the growth in the resident labour force due to a slower increase in resident population this year. Consequently, the resident labour force rose by 3.1% over the year in June 2010, comparable to gains of 3.0% in the preceding year. As at June 2010, there were 2.05 million residents in the labour force, comprising 1.15 million (56%) males and 0.90 million (44%) females.

The proportion of residents aged 25 to 64 in employment rebounded to a new high of 77.1% in 2010 from 75.8% in 2009, after falling by 1.2%-points from the preceding year due to the economic downturn. The improvement in employment rate was broad-based. A record 71.7% of women in the prime-working ages of 25 to 54 were working in 2010, up notably from 69.4% in 2009. Nevertheless, their employment rate was still below the 92.4% for prime-working age men, which increased from 91.6% in 2009.

The employment rate for older residents aged 55 to 64 rose to a new high of 59.0% in 2010, after holding steady at 57.2% over the past two years. The rise was largely contributed by a marked increase in proportion of older women in employment from 40.1% in 2009 to 43.4% in 2010. The employment rate for older men was also at a record high of 75.0% in 2010.

The median monthly income from work of residents in full-time employment rose by 4.2% over the year to $2,710 in 2010, faster than the marginal growth of 0.5% in 2009. Even after adjusting for the higher inflation this year, the median income rose by 1.8% , recovering from a slight dip of 0.1% in 2009. Part-timers also saw a significant increase in median income of 13% to $700 in 2010 (real: 11%P). Overall, the nominal median income for all employed residents rose by 3.3% (real: 1.0%P) to $2,500 in 2010, after falling by 1.2% (real: -1.8%) in 2009. The growth in income this year came earlier and stronger than in the previous recovery, when the median income hardly moved from 2001 to 2006, before rising significantly in 2007.

Supported by the economic recovery, the resident unemployment rate and number improved significantly from a seasonally adjusted 4.5% or 90,300 in June 2009 to 3.2% or 65,500 in June 2010. The improvement in unemployment rate was broad-based, benefiting all education and age groups.