The 10 jobs with the highest median gross wage all drew over $11,000 per month. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
SINGAPORE: Employers here placed a premium on the work of librarians as custodians of knowledge in 2022, as the median gross wage for the occupation climbed to S$6,269 per month, up more than 50% from 2021.
This puts librarians among the top gainers in a year that saw a tightening labour market amid continued economic growth.
Only creative advertising professionals, visual merchandisers and client account service executives – in that order – ranked above librarians in percentage growth of median gross wage, according to results from the Ministry of Manpower’s (MoM) annual occupational wage survey released in mid-July.
Conducted from July to December 2022, the survey gathered responses from 4,350 private-sector employers, which collectively hired some 222,300 full-time resident workers with Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions in June 2022.
The Straits Times (ST) has used data from this and other MoM surveys, as well as exclusive data on job demand in various sectors provided by the ministry to create the ST Salary Guide 2023 released yesterday.
Gross wage includes basic wage, overtime payments, commissions, allowances and other regular cash payments. However, it is before deduction of employee Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions and personal income tax and excludes employer CPF contributions, bonuses, stock options, other lump sum payments and payments in kind.
Rounding off the list of top 10 roles with the greatest percentage growth were chemical engineering technician (excluding petrochemicals, petroleum and natural gas), information technology infrastructure technician, machine operator for food and related products, special education teacher, sales professionals for institutional sales of financial products and IT support technician (including IT user helpdesk technician).
Conversely, median gross wage fell most steeply – by more than 30% – for roles such as general practitioner or physician, assistant electronics engineer, and hair stylist or hairdresser.
The top-earning occupation was in-house legal counsel, which had the highest median gross wage in 2022 of S$13,918 per month, edging out the S$13,544 median enjoyed by chief information, chief technology, and chief security officers.
Coming in third were commodities and ship brokers, earning a monthly median gross wage of S$13,217.
Other jobs in the top 10 included strategic planning manager, risk management manager, marine superintendent and various finance-related roles, including securities and finance dealer. — The Straits Times/ANN
