in sinkieland you never get good new 🙃🫠

https://vulcanpost.com/907025/singaporeans-underpaid-productivity/#:~:text=As a result%2C by 2025,data does not include bonuses.     Yesterday, I brought you some positive news about how half of Singaporeans are about to be making S$6,000 per month or more. Today, however, I have something that may dampen the mood, coming from the very same labour force report released by the Ministry of Manpower last week. Sadly, Singaporeans appear to be underpaid in relation to the productivity gains recorded in recent years. Image credit: Labour Force In Singapore Advance Release 2025./ Singapore Ministry of Manpower As you can see, with 2016 set as the base year, productivity and incomes appear to have been linked over the subsequent four years, right up until the pandemic, which brought considerable economic upheaval. It seems to have been rather profitable in Singapore, though, as the value-added per worker jumped in 2021 (perhaps driven by a surge in pandemic-related trade) and continued throughout the post-pandemic revival until this year, while incomes followed a correlated path but at a considerably lower level.   As a result, by 2025, worker productivity had increased by 17.6% relative to 2016, but incomes rose by only 13.1%. Mind you: both figures represent real changes, after adjusting for inflation. This means that mean incomes are suffering a real deficit of around 4%—this is how much Singaporeans, on average, are being underpaid relative to their increased productivity. This equals S$400 for every $10,000 in annual income, so a person with an annual pay of S$30,000 would be worse off by S$1,200. This figure grows to S$2,400 at S$60,000, S$4,800 at S$120,000, and so on. On paper, it’s a real loss of thousands of dollars annually. Fortunately, however, the gap is showing signs of shrinking from over 6% in 2024.   How to read these figures Before you jump to conclusions, however, I should stress that these are just averages for the entire economy. Whether or not you are underpaid depends on the industry you’re in, as different businesses have been impacted in different ways. Some have reaped outsized benefits while others struggled to stay afloat. What’s more, in this case, the salary data does not include bonuses. Why this matters could be seen in the case of Singapore Airlines, which paid out huge 8-month bonuses to staff following its strong results in 2023 and 2024. This came after lean years under lockdowns, with some people laid off and the rest taking salary cuts. So, while their base remuneration may have suffered, they benefited from a substantial windfall later. The same could be true for other affected companies, but it is not captured in these statistics. On the other hand, it is equally possible that workers in some industries may be underpaid by even more, while others are overpaid—with the ultimate average coming down to negative 4%. This is why you should always take broad, national summaries with a pinch of salt and consider your own situation subjectively. Nevertheless, what the data does show is a certain drop in basic incomes relative to worker performance, albeit with signs of improvement as the difference appears to be shrinking. If the trend continues, especially amid now stable and very low inflation (which helps companies plan ahead), we should see the gap eventually erased as the economy finally returns to the pre-pandemic normal. And if that’s the case, then more Singaporeans will see higher raises in the next two to three years, as their incomes catch up to where they should be.

https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=3884237198387870       A Chinese man climbed over the fence to retrieve a ball, mistaking the netting used to cover the gaps between the court buildings for solid ground. He lost his footing and fell to his death from the third floor of the court. Footage of the accident has been released.

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Road rage gone wrong. Taking passports is theft.