Oil traders, tech professionals among big earners in 2023: MOM salary data

SINGAPORE – Oil and bunker traders were among those handsomely rewarded in 2023, a bumper year for Singapore’s ports.

They earned a median gross wage of $14,911 per month as at June 2023, coming in tops among the jobs covered by the latest annual occupational wage data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Bunker sales in Singapore had weighed in at a record 51.8 million tonnes in 2023, rewriting the 50.6 million tonne mark notched in 2017.

Marine superintendents also ranked high in median gross wage, coming in 19th out of around 500 common occupations across all industries.

Jobs pertaining to technology, finance and media were also well represented among the top 20 roles ranked by median gross wage.

The Straits Times on July 30 released the 2024 Singapore Salary Guide, which draws from MOM’s annual Occupational Wage Survey, among other sources.

Almost 4,800 private-sector employers were polled from July to December in 2023 for the MOM survey, with the results released in June 2024.

These employers collectively employed some 288,700 full-time Singaporean and permanent resident employees who had Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions in June 2023.

Chief information officers, chief technology officers and chief security officers came in second with a median gross wage of $13,840.

The wage figures include employee CPF contributions but exclude employer CPF contributions.

Other tech roles in the top 20 include enterprise or solution architects, digital forensics specialists, and infocomm technology sales and services professionals.

The highest-paying finance-related job was that of business valuer, which drew a median gross wage of $13,649, coming in fourth place.

Insurance services managers, risk management managers, financial or investment advisers, financial risk managers and financial services managers followed closely behind with median gross wages of more than $10,000.

Editors of news and periodicals pulled in median gross wages of $10,577, while directors of stage, film, television, game, commercial, video and radio earned median gross wages of $11,252.

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Meanwhile, top wage gainers spanned an eclectic range of roles.

Roles relating to healthcare, wellness, beauty and environmental services featured alongside those in finance, marketing and social services.

The median gross wages recorded for hairdressers increased from $1,595 per month in June 2022 to $2,770 per month in June 2023, which is up by more than 73 per cent.

Median gross wages for wellness centre managers followed behind, with a jump of over 60 per cent between both surveys to $5,628 in June 2023.

The median gross wage commanded by certain types of specialist medical practitioners, as well as clinical research professionals, also made large gains.

Rounding off the list of top 10 gainers were telemarketers and family counsellors, with increases of over 30 per cent between the 2022 and 2023 surveys.

However, Associate Professor Terence Ho of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy told ST that year-to-year comparisons of wages for particular occupations may not be a very good reflection of underlying trends because of sample size limitations and sampling variability in the survey.

Overall, the median gross monthly income of full-time employed residents rose 2.5 per cent year on year in 2023, according to MOM data released in January.

Salary data for common occupations in all industries was also classified by sex in the survey results.

Jobs with the largest pay gaps include various healthcare and manufacturing roles, according to calculations by ST.

The widest gap was observed among plant and machine operators involved in chemical processing and products.

Men working that job were recorded drawing a median gross wage of $8,908, almost quadruple that of women reported to be in the same role.

Prof Ho said occupations that have seen strong wage gains could reflect robust demand relative to supply of workers.

Salary growth in lower-wage occupations could have been spurred by the implementation of progressive wages, he added.

Progressive wages refer to a wage ladder for lower-wage occupations tied to training and productivity improvements that covers seven sectors and two occupations.

The latest to be covered are the food services sector, as well as administrators and drivers in all sectors in March 2023, and the waste management sector in July 2023.

Even lower-wage roles that are not covered by progressive wages could have benefited from the spillover effect of increased wages in the broader market of lower-wage roles, Prof Ho added.

He also noted that the comparison of male and female employees’ wages by occupation is not adjusted for seniority and job responsibility.

“Hence, it’s possible that men may be holding more senior positions in the occupations where their wages are significantly higher than (those) for women.”

On the strong earnings that oil and bunker traders posted, Ms Jenny Su, senior director at executive search firm Ethos BeathChapman, said the occupation has historically commanded high salaries owing to the specialised knowledge and significant financial stakes involved.

“The volatility in global energy markets has intensified the need for expert traders, contributing to the recent wage surge,” she said, citing geopolitical tensions and fluctuating oil prices as some causes of the volatility.

Ms Su said positions related to artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability are expected to see continued wage growth.

“These fields, still relatively new, with less than 20 years of development, face a significant supply gap as demand surges worldwide,” she added.

Conversely, traditional retail and administrative support services are among the sectors likely to experience slower wage growth or decline due to advancements such as augmented reality and AI that could supplant human beings for some tasks, she noted.

Female executive search consultants drew a median gross wage of over 20 per cent higher than males in the same occupation. It is one of the largest gender pay gaps in favour of women.

On this, Ms Su said that in her industry, networking and relationship-building skills are highly valued.

Female consultants tend to be perceived by clients as more empathetic and better communicators, which can lead to better outcomes and higher earnings, she added.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.