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Income
gap widens in Singapore last year
Xinhua
News
14 Feb
08
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/13/content_7598368.htm
The
income gap widened in Singapore last year, as higher-income
households continued to experience faster income growth than
lower-income ones, according to a report issued by the Singapore
government Wednesday.
Singapore's Gini coefficient, a
summary measure of income inequality, increased to 0.485 in 2007
from 0.472 in 2006, said the latest report by the Department of
Statistics.
However the Singapore government said that
its Goods and Services Tax (GST) offset package which was
weighted in favor of the lower-income groups helped to overcome
that gap.
After adjusting for government benefits and
taxes, the Gini coefficient was actually lower at 0.46 in 2007
than the previous year, said the report.
The good news is
that the average monthly household income in Singapore rose 9.6
percent to 6,280 Singapore dollars (about 4,423 U.S. dollars)
last year, the fastest pace over the last decade.
"The
strong household income growth in 2007 may be attributed to
strong wage grow on the back of healthy economic growth and a
tight labor market," said the report.
The average
monthly income among households with at least one employed person
grew 9.1 percent to 6,830 Singapore dollars (about4,810 dollars).
After adjusting for inflation, Singaporean households
enjoyed a real income growth of 6.9 percent last year.
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