Singapore household incomes dip to lowest in over a decade

Household incomes in Singapore saw their worst dip in more than a decade last year as the world staggered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, falling for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to official figures released today.

The republic’s Department of Statistics said household incomes fell 2.5% from S$9,425 to S$9,189.

It said lower-income households were the hardest hit with declines of up to 6.1%.

The report also said households received the most government aid last year through various schemes, over S$1,600 more than they received in the previous year.

On average, a total S$6,308 per household member was given compared to S$4,684 in 2019.

“This was due to the schemes introduced in 2020 to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, resident households in HDB one- and two-room flats received S$13,670 per household member on average, close to double the transfers received by resident households in HDB three-room flats,” the department said, referring to government flats developed by the Housing Development Board.

Singapore is facing its worst economic recession since the island became an independent republic, with the plunge in leading stock exchanges and industrial production affecting the export-dependent city-state.