https://www.facebook.com/laoliang/posts/pfbid02kZLmQFsYHX7YwM8F4rDPpe4gYbjnbDjaG7VascB8MTKMUTXeize1PBPr7EqnAeNFl
“NTUC must remain relevant and change with the times as S’pore refreshes social compact: DPM Wong” (ST, Jul 24)
“National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will have to evolve or even reinvent itself in tandem with the times, even as its fundamental role of being the voice and champion of workers remains unchanged.”
Comment:
“its fundamental role of being the voice and champion of workers remains unchanged”?
Let the numbers do the talking!
1) 55% (estimate) of PMET jobs non-S’porean & unemployed S’poreans (Employment pass, S-Pass, Work Permit PMETs, PR PMETs, Other Work Passes PMETs, Foreign Interns performing PMET jobs, new citizen PMETs, unemployed S’porean PMETs)
2) 13% of the citizens in the workforce were not born in S’pore
3) 53.3% of the workforce were not born in Spore
4) 73,900 unemployed residents Mar 2022 (seasonally adjusted), despite record job vacancies
5) Lowest 20th percentile incomes, among developed countries
6) Top 5 GDP per capita in the world – No minimum wage
7) (CNA, Jul 11) “According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), youths between the ages of 20 and 24 had a median monthly salary, including employer CPF contributions, of S$2,691 last year, down from S$2,730 in 2019.
Those who were between 25 and 29 had a median monthly salary of S$4,095 last year, a mere S$14 more than the S$4,081 in 2019.
Those aged 30 to 34 fared slightly better, earning a median monthly salary of S$5,222 last year, up S$25 from S$5,197 in 2019.
Official statistics also showed that between 2020 and last year, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, youths’ pay increases were outstripped by the inflation rate, further undermining their spending power.
For the age groups of 20 to 24 and 30 to 34, their median monthly incomes shrunk by 3.6 and 0.81 per cent respectively during this period, while the age group of 25 to 29 experienced a marginal increase of 0.96 per cent.”
Resident Households by Monthly Household Income from Work and Household SizeHousehold Income Below 1,000
(includes employer CPF contributions)
(Estimate typically Take-home below $684 after 37% CPF?)
101 Households with 8 or More Persons
176 with 7 Persons
333 6 Persons
880 5 Persons
2,379 4 Persons
4,550 3 Persons
9,569 2 Persons
9,018 1 Person
27,007 Total Persons
Why are there so many households with so low income, with so many persons in the household?
How do they survive, to make ends meet?
70,569 households’ income 1,000 – 1,999
69,341 2,000 – 2,999
74,185 3,000 – 3,999
70,712 4,000 – 4,999
No Employed Person in the Household
112 Households with 8 or More Persons
400 with 7 Persons
898 6 Persons
2,324 5 Persons
7,068 4 Persons
23,537 3 Persons
74,525 2 Persons
73,581 1 Person
182,445 Total Persons
9) Ratio of expenditure to income of lower-income households?
This ratio for below $1,000 & $1,000 – 1,999 households increased from 1.46 to 1.93 (below $1,000) & 1.01 to 1.31 ($1,000 – 1,999), from 2012/2013 to 2017/2018
10) No more Workfare for 47k lower-income S’poreans?
11) How much did the 20th percentile income decrease or increase?
20th percentile income hardly increased in the last 10 years?
GROSS MONTHLY INCOME FROM WORK (EXCLUDING EMPLOYER CPF) OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYED RESIDENTS, 20th percentile
Decreased from $2,167 or 6.2% from 2019 to $2,033 in 2020
The real increase from 2010 to 2020 is 1.7% per annum
So, for illustrative purposes, a person earning $1,000 has a real increase per year of only about $17 in the last 10 years or so, and may have had a decrease last year of $62 (6.2%) – possibly wiping out about 2 years of the past nominal increase in income
If we factor in the historical increases in the CPF contribution rates – the actual net cash disposable income increase may be even lower
And of course, CPF contribution rates have just been increased from 1 Jan 2022, for age 55 to 70, which may even further reduce the dismal increases they had
12) So many lower-income households – 550,000 for the $30 public transport vouchers?
13) About 30% of households’ expenditure exceeded income?
Monthly Household Income from Work (including employer CPF) (% of Households) in 2017
No Employed Person Households 11.8%
Below 1,000 1.9%
1,000 – 1,999 5.4%
2,000 – 2,999 5.1%
3,000 – 3,999 5.5%
4,000 – 4,999 5.2%
5,000 – 5,999 5.4%
Average Monthly Household Expenditure Among Resident Households 2017/2018 (Household Expenditure Survey 2017/2018)
1 person households $2,136.90
2 person households $3,449
3 person households $4,604.80
Does the above data mean that about 12.4% of employed households’ income $2,000 (after 20% CPF employer) may be less than the average expenditure of 1 person households $2,136.90?
about 23.1% income $3,600 approximately less than expenditure of 2 person households $3,449?
about 28.5% income $4,400 less than expenditure of 3 person households $4,604.80?
(note: average household size was 3.3 and the average household expenditure was $4,906.40)
14) Tafep: Top issue – Fair consideration for S’poreans over foreigners?
Enquiries increased 183%
15) The elephant in the room is age discrimination & pay lah!
Jobs & Income: How serious is age discrimination?
Let the numbers do the talking?
One perspective may be to look at the income of different age groups
The age groups with the lowest median income in descending order are:
60 & Over 2,167 (typical take-home pay after CPF $2,004)
55 – 59 3,150 ($2,741)
50 – 54 4,117 ($3,294)
45 – 49 5,000 ($4,000)
40 – 44 5,550 ($4,440)
The above statistics seems to correspond with the Retirement Study in 2012, which found various things, such as that commented below:
““It is a hump-shaped distribution of earnings by age where wage growth is faster when the worker is young and tapers off into the negative as he gets older”.
From the graph in the study, it appears that real earnings start to decline from around age 38, for males at the 50th percentile for earnings.
So, my understanding is that at age 55, which is the age used to compute the Income Replacement Ratio (IRR), the real earnings would be about the same as that at around age 33.
So, does this mean that we are assuming that one would be earning at age 55, the real earnings equivalent of what one earned at around 33?
In other words, the amount that is used to determine the IRR may not be what most layman may think that as they grow older – they would earn more.”
Also, for example, the median income of full-time employed “Cleaners, Labourers & Related Workers”
(99,300 of 149,500 ≥ Age 55), &
“Plant & Machine Operators & Assemblers” (74,500 of 151,700 ≥ Age 55), were only
$1,400 (typical take-home $1,120) & $1,950 (take-home $1,560) in Jun 2020
16) 47,500 employed residents earning less than $500 a month, 105,800 less than $1,000 and
202,100 less than $1,500, i.e. a
total of 355,400 earning less than $1,500 (including employee CPF contribution), in June 2020!
149,500 resident Cleaners, Labourers and Related Workers in June 2020
Under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) – the minimum basic monthly salary of General Cleaners (F & B establishments/Office and commercial sites) is $1,314 (including employee CPF contribution)
871,800 Employed Residents’ Take-home Pay below $2,400
Plus 122,900 Unemployed?
Yearbook of Manpower Statistics
(Released 30 Jun 2021)
Gross Monthly Income
( Excluding Employer CPF )
Under $500 Total 47,500 (Full-time 12,000; Part-time 35,500)
$ 500 – $ 999 105,800 (38,600; 67,200)
$ 1,000 – $ 1,499 202,100 (138,800; 63,300)
$ 1,500 – $ 1,999 172,000 (151,400; 20,600)
$ 2,000 – $ 2,499 187,400 (173,100; 14,300)
$ 2,500 – $ 2,999 157,000 (149,700; 7,400)
Totaling the above, we get 871,800 Employed Residents’ Income below $3,000
Does this mean that about 40% (871,800 divided by 2,184,400 total employed residents) earn below $3,000?
The above employed Residents’ statistics do not include the 122,900 Unemployed Residents
If we include the 122,900 Unemployed Residents – does it mean that about 994,700 (871,800 + 122,900) earn less than $3,000 or were unemployed, which is about 43.1% (994,700 divided by 2,307,300 (total employed 2,184,400 + unemployed 122,900))?
After deducting the typical 20% employee CPF contribution – the take-home pay may be below $2,400 for those earning below $3,000
27,007 households below $684 take-home pay
97,576 below $1,368
166,917 below $2,051
1 in 10 households no money to eat enough
Some have just 1 meal a day
Only 2 in 10 in this situation were receiving support in this area
Charity food distribution increased 50%
(SMU Study The Hunger Report 2019)
Full-time employed residents’ income (including employee CPF) below $500 increased from 4,000 in June 2019 to 12,000 in June 2020
$ 500 – $ 999 increased from 24,200 to 38,600
$ 1,000 – $ 1,499 increased from 130,400 to 138,800
$ 1,500 – $ 1,999 increased from 150,400 to 151,400
Below $2,000 increased from 309,000 to 340,800 (10.3%)
53.3% of Total Workforce Not born in Singapore
45.5% of Population – Not born in Singapore
38% of Population Non-S’porean
23.4% of Resident Population – Not born in Singapore
Since 13% of the citizen workforce were not born in Singapore (Parliamentary proceedings Jul 2021) – does it mean that about 53.3% of the total workforce were not born in Singapore (Estimate derived from MOM Statistical Table: Unemployment)
7.0% Citizen Not born in Singapore
35.8% Foreign
10.5% PR
= Total 53.3%
38% of Total Population Non-S’porean (Foreigners & PRs)
1.64m Non-residents (Foreigners)
2.16m Non-S’poreans (Foreigners & PRs)
1.64m Foreigners + 947,580 Resident Population Not born in Singapore = 2,587,580 divided by 5.69m Total Population = 45.5% of Population Not born in Singapore
