Singapore’s soaring cost of living, salaries top of residents’ concerns: survey

Results of the survey signal that pressure remains on the city state’s government to address key issues including wages and housing affordability

Most respondents said they were dissatisfied with how Singapore was handling the wealth gap, wages and the prices of homes and cars

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People walk along the walkway at Marina Bay in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:02pm, 18 Oct 2023

Singapore’s high cost of living is by far the most important issue facing the city state, according to a new survey of residents, signalling that pressure remains on the government to address key issues including wages and housing affordability.

In a poll of more than 1,500 residents ranking 25 community issues published by Blackbox Research, 59 per cent selected cost of living as their first or second choice, with salaries taking the second spot overall at 17 per cent.

While 73 per cent view current national economic conditions positively, most were dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the wealth gap, wages and the prices of homes and cars.

Private residential condominium blocks in Singapore. Most survey respondents said they were dissatisfied with the prices of homes and cars in the city sate. Photo: Reuters

The People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, got a boost last month after former senior minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam scored a landslide victory in the presidential election.

It came after the government sustained a series of political scandals, including a corruption probe involving a senior minister, that put its clean reputation to test.

While observers say the result in the non-partisan contest can largely be attributed to Tharman’s own popularity, what’s less clear is how recent events will affect the timing of a general election that must be called by 2025.

A good-governance meter tracked by Blackbox returned a score of 63 per cent, indicating broad satisfaction among the community in the government’s functioning.