Guidelines, not law: the Government accepts the National Wages Council's 2026/2027 Guidelines.
MOM's release sets out the background. The labour market expanded in the first half of 2026, unemployment stayed low and stable, and real incomes grew. Retrenchments rose in the second quarter, mostly in outward-oriented sectors and mostly from reorganisation or restructuring. Labour productivity rose 3.8% year on year in the first half while unit labour cost fell 0.8%, but unevenly: manufacturing and wholesale trade saw their unit labour costs fall, while food and beverage services and transportation and storage saw theirs rise.
The Government calls on employers to take a positive-leaning posture on appropriate wage increases and variable payments, with flexibility in wage adjustments where conditions warrant it, and to press on with transforming their businesses and workforce. The release points employers to the Progressive Wage Model, the Local Qualifying Salary and the Progressive Wage Mark, and notes that the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme now runs until the end of 2028.
What this means for a Singapore SME
The recommended figures are in the Guidelines document itself, which MOM publishes with the release. A business setting next year's pay reads them alongside its own sector's position: the release names food and beverage services and transportation and storage as the sectors whose unit labour costs rose.