Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong says most employees have seen wages outpace inflation.
Singapore’s financial system grew 4 % in 2024, comfortably beating forecasts, in accordance with preliminary authorities figures.
Gross home product (GDP) expanded 4.3 % within the October-December interval, Singapore’s Ministry of Commerce and Business mentioned on Thursday, lifting full-year progress to its strongest efficiency since 2011, excluding the post-COVID-19 pandemic rebound in 2021.
Officers within the Southeast Asian nation had in November forecast progress for the yr at about 3.5 %.
Manufacturing, a serious driver of the city-state’s export-reliant financial system, expanded 4.2 % within the final quarter, whereas building and providers grew 5.9 % and 4.3 %, respectively.
In a New Yr’s message, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong mentioned most employees had seen their wages outpace inflation and will anticipate to see their incomes proceed to rise.
“In contrast to in lots of developed international locations, we’re not tormented by unemployment and stagnant wages,” Wong mentioned.
Wong, nevertheless, acknowledged that Singapore’s financial system was not immune from geopolitical tensions, such because the wars within the Center East and Ukraine.
“Throughout many international locations, value of dwelling pressures proceed to weigh closely on households and communities. Folks really feel a deep sense of angst and anxiousness in regards to the future,” he mentioned.
Singapore’s Commerce Ministry in November mentioned it anticipated progress of between 1 and three % in 2025.