Singapore Braces for U-Shaped Recovery
Considering the long gap between recession and growth worldwide, Singapore is preparing for a U-shaped recovery. The economic forecast emerging from the country shows that its economic growth would slow in 2023 amid persistent inflation and global pressures. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore's GDP is expected to rise by 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent next year--down from about 3.5 percent this year as it joins a global trend toward slowing growth.
"For the rest of the year, the weaker external economic outlook will weigh on the growth of Singapore's outward-oriented sectors, including the electronics and chemicals clusters," MTI Permanent Secretary Gabriel Lim told reporters.
Even though the 3.5 percent GDP growth projection for 2022 was narrowed from an earlier range of 34 percent, wage growth in Singapore in 2023 is set to stay robust even as the slowing economy cuts labor demand. With the significant ease of COVID-19 restrictions, the country's labor market has attained pre-pandemic normalcy. Total employment surpassed pre-Covid levels in the third quarter of 2022, making way for a reduction in unemployment rates. Although, even with a decrease in employee demand, the nominal resident wage growth has stayed ahead of inflation, with real median income growth at 2.1 percent for most of the year. It is quite clear that Singapore is bracing for a U-shaped recovery that will help the country in the long run. In this issue, we have curated a few stories from the business realm of Singapore.
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