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Households earned more and spent more over last five years

SINGAPORE — Households in Singapore earned more, and spent more, last year compared to five years ago.

SINGAPORE — Households in Singapore earned more, and spent more, last year compared to five years ago.

This applied to households consisting of Singaporeans and permanent residents across all income groups, according to findings of the Department of Statistics’ (Singstat) Household Expenditure Survey 2012/2013.

The average monthly household income from all sources rose to S$10,503, and increase of 5.3 per cent annually from 2008, when the figure was S$8,105.

Average monthly household expenditure also went up, reaching S$4,724 last year compared to S$3,809 five years ago – an average annual increase of 4.4 per cent.

Incomes and expenditure increased even when inflation was taken into account, said Singstat.

Housing, food and transport accounted for the largest shares of household expenditure for all income groups, making up 65 per cent of household expenditure on average, the latest survey showed.

While meals at hawker centres and food courts continued to make up the bulk of expenses of eating out, the share of spending in restaurants, cafes and pubs increased compared to five years ago.

Average expenditure on transport also increased, due mainly to higher spending on air travel and private transport. And ownership of mobile phones, personal computers and air-conditioners became more common, even among lower-income households.

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