SINGAPORE: As the notion of a “good job” varies across individuals, the government uses a range of labour market indicators that are “more objectively measurable” to assess job quality, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Health Koh Poh Koon said in parliament on Thursday (Feb 12).
The government also regularly benchmarks labour market performance internationally across key dimensions that cover job creation and job quality, he added.
These dimensions include labour market participation, labour underutilisation and earnings, he said.
Dr Koh was responding to a parliamentary question filed by Member of Parliament Kenneth Tiong (WP-Aljunied) on what the Manpower Ministry’s operational definition of a “good job” is.
In January, Singapore’s Economic Strategy Review committees announced seven recommendations to drive growth and create good jobs.
One recommendation was to broaden the range of good jobs across the economy.
Dr Koh noted that the notion of a “good job” varies across individuals, and is shaped by their circumstances and aspirations.
It often includes factors such as wage growth, opportunities for career development, fair and safe workplaces and personal fulfilment, and what gives someone the highest utility, among others, he said.
“There are multiple dimensions to good jobs, and no single, universally accepted framework for measuring job quality. The perception of what constitutes good jobs also has a time dimension to it and may change with age,” Dr Koh said.
As such, the government chooses to measure a range of more objectively measurable labour market indicators to assess job quality, he said.
05:44 Min
The notion of a “good job” varies for individuals, and Singapore chose to measure a range of more objectively measurable labour market indicators and regularly benchmarks its labour market performance internationally. Local workers have seen sustained and inclusive wage growth. From 2021 to 2025, real gross monthly income at the median grew by 7.4 per cent; at the 20th percentile, income grew even faster - by 10.1 per cent over the same period. Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon highlighted this trend in reply to an MP’s questions in parliament on Thursday (Feb 12).
The indicators are broadly aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework, Dr Koh said.
“Across these domains, Singapore generally ranks favourably relative to OECD economies,” he said.
Dr Koh noted that local workers have experienced “sustained and inclusive” wage growth.
From 2021 to 2025, the median real gross monthly income grew by 7.4 per cent. At the 20th percentile, income grew by 10.1 per cent over the same period, he said.
Two-thirds of private sector establishments provided structured training to employees, and fewer employees experienced discrimination at work, with the proportion decreasing from 8.5 per cent in 2021 to 6 per cent in 2023, said Dr Koh.
“We have also enacted the Workplace Fairness Act to promote fair employment practices and protect employees from workplace discrimination,” he said.
Additionally, Singapore is one of the top-performing countries globally for workplace safety and health, with a five-year average workplace fatality rate of 1.1 per 100,000 workers in 2024, he noted.
“We will continue working to ensure that our economic strategies translate economic growth into good jobs for Singaporeans,” he said.
In response to a supplementary question from Mr Tiong on creating a job quality framework, as the OECD has done, Dr Koh said that the government does track “multiple parameters and dimensions” across the labour market.
The OECD job quality framework measures factors such as earnings quality, labour market security and quality of working environment.
“But fundamentally, workers want to see their wages go up from year to year, and in fact, as they get more seniority, they want to be recognised for their talent as well,” said Dr Koh.
In general, well-paying jobs are those that pay above the median wage of the resident workforce, Dr Koh said.
“By creating more such jobs and helping more Singaporeans to upskill, to take them on, we will grow the median wage of our workforce over time,” he said.
This is a useful indicator of broad-based wage growth, showing that the measures put in place help lift the median wage of workers and the workforce over time, he said.
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The government also regularly benchmarks labour market performance internationally across key dimensions that cover job creation and job quality, he added.
These dimensions include labour market participation, labour underutilisation and earnings, he said.
Dr Koh was responding to a parliamentary question filed by Member of Parliament Kenneth Tiong (WP-Aljunied) on what the Manpower Ministry’s operational definition of a “good job” is.
In January, Singapore’s Economic Strategy Review committees announced seven recommendations to drive growth and create good jobs.
One recommendation was to broaden the range of good jobs across the economy.
Dr Koh noted that the notion of a “good job” varies across individuals, and is shaped by their circumstances and aspirations.
It often includes factors such as wage growth, opportunities for career development, fair and safe workplaces and personal fulfilment, and what gives someone the highest utility, among others, he said.
“There are multiple dimensions to good jobs, and no single, universally accepted framework for measuring job quality. The perception of what constitutes good jobs also has a time dimension to it and may change with age,” Dr Koh said.
As such, the government chooses to measure a range of more objectively measurable labour market indicators to assess job quality, he said.
05:44 Min
The notion of a “good job” varies for individuals, and Singapore chose to measure a range of more objectively measurable labour market indicators and regularly benchmarks its labour market performance internationally. Local workers have seen sustained and inclusive wage growth. From 2021 to 2025, real gross monthly income at the median grew by 7.4 per cent; at the 20th percentile, income grew even faster - by 10.1 per cent over the same period. Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon highlighted this trend in reply to an MP’s questions in parliament on Thursday (Feb 12).
STATE OF JOBS
The indicators are broadly aligned with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework, Dr Koh said.
“Across these domains, Singapore generally ranks favourably relative to OECD economies,” he said.
Dr Koh noted that local workers have experienced “sustained and inclusive” wage growth.
From 2021 to 2025, the median real gross monthly income grew by 7.4 per cent. At the 20th percentile, income grew by 10.1 per cent over the same period, he said.
Two-thirds of private sector establishments provided structured training to employees, and fewer employees experienced discrimination at work, with the proportion decreasing from 8.5 per cent in 2021 to 6 per cent in 2023, said Dr Koh.
“We have also enacted the Workplace Fairness Act to promote fair employment practices and protect employees from workplace discrimination,” he said.
Additionally, Singapore is one of the top-performing countries globally for workplace safety and health, with a five-year average workplace fatality rate of 1.1 per 100,000 workers in 2024, he noted.
“We will continue working to ensure that our economic strategies translate economic growth into good jobs for Singaporeans,” he said.
In response to a supplementary question from Mr Tiong on creating a job quality framework, as the OECD has done, Dr Koh said that the government does track “multiple parameters and dimensions” across the labour market.
The OECD job quality framework measures factors such as earnings quality, labour market security and quality of working environment.
“But fundamentally, workers want to see their wages go up from year to year, and in fact, as they get more seniority, they want to be recognised for their talent as well,” said Dr Koh.
In general, well-paying jobs are those that pay above the median wage of the resident workforce, Dr Koh said.
“By creating more such jobs and helping more Singaporeans to upskill, to take them on, we will grow the median wage of our workforce over time,” he said.
This is a useful indicator of broad-based wage growth, showing that the measures put in place help lift the median wage of workers and the workforce over time, he said.
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