62 The Economy
Chart 12
Total Labour Force and Total Employment (year-on-year rate of change)
Per cent
5
4
3
2
1
0
Total employment
Total labour force
-2
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Manpower balance tightened up in 2011, with labour demand growth outpacing labour supply growth by a large margin throughout the year.
The tightness of the labour market, coupled with the additional boost from the SMW implementation, translated into a notable and broad-based improvement in incomes, especially of the lower segment. Specifically, labour earnings in the private sector increased markedly by 7.9 per cent in 2011, the fastest since 1997. After adjusting for changes in consumer prices, there was a real improvement of 2.5 per cent (Chart 13). Analysed by economic sector, nominal payroll picked up across almost all sectors in 2011, with more notable increases for workers engaged in retail; financing and insurance; real estate; and import/export trade and wholesale. Separately, data from the General Household Survey, though not strictly comparable to those from the business establishment surveys, indicated that average employment earnings for full-time employees in the lowest decile group registered a remarkable growth of 13.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011 over a year earlier, or 8 per cent in real terms after adjusting for inflation. Over the same period, median household income rose by 11.1 per cent from $18,000 to $20,000, the largest increase since early 1997. After adjusting for inflation, there was still a notable increase of 5.1 per cent in real terms.
The Property Market
The residential property market started the year with further price upsurge, amid bullish sentiment and broad-based improvements in the labour market. However, sentiment turned more cautious since June, dented by successive negative developments, first the increasing worries over the sluggish growth in the advanced economies, then the escalation of the European debt crisis and increasing evidence that the fragilities in the advanced economies would hurt Asia's growth momentum. The successive increases in mortgage rates by the local banks also added to the cautious sentiment.