Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong says most workers have seen wages outpace inflation.
Singapore's economy grew 4 per cent in 2024, handily beating forecasts, according to preliminary government figures.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.3 percent in the October-December period, Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Thursday, lifting full-year growth to its strongest performance since 2011, excluding the post-COVID-19 pandemic rebound in 2021.
Officials in the Southeast Asian nation had in November forecast growth for the year of about 3.5 percent.
Manufacturing, a major driver of the export-dependent city-state's economy, expanded 4.2 percent in the latest quarter, while construction and services grew 5.9 percent and 4.2 percent. 3 percent, respectively.
In a New Year message, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said most workers had seen their salaries outpace inflation and could expect their incomes to continue rising.
“Unlike many developed countries, we are not plagued by unemployment or stagnant wages,” Wong said.
Wong, however, acknowledged that Singapore's economy was not immune to geopolitical tensions, such as wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“In many countries, cost-of-living pressures continue to weigh heavily on families and communities. “People feel a deep sense of anguish and anxiety about the future,” he said.
Singapore's commerce ministry said in November it expected growth of between 1 percent and 3 percent in 2025.
