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OCBC SME Index Q1 2025

9.7% average wage-bill increase across SG SMEs.

§ 01 — Methodology

How the report was conducted.

Quarterly survey of 1,000 SG SME owners across 12 industries. Conducted by OCBC Business Banking research team.

§ 02 — Verbatim quote (no paraphrase)

"In Q1 2025, SMEs experienced an average wage bill increase of 9.7%, with sectors like Transport & Logistics, Building & Construction, and Healthcare registering even higher increases — Transport & Logistics at 15.5%."

— OCBC, SME Index Q1 2025

§ 03 — What the report actually says

Breakdown by what we cite

§ 04 — Additional findings

Context we don't cite directly but relied on.

• SME Index reading: 49.5–50.7 across 2025 quarters (mostly contractionary territory).
• Top concerns (all quarters): #1 stiff competition, #2 manpower constraints.
• Building & Construction, Retail and Education sectors stayed resilient against softer consumer demand.
• Geopolitical uncertainty cited by 1 in 4 SMEs as biggest challenge.

§ 05 — Why this matters for your business

The application.

A 9.7% wage rise compounds quarter-on-quarter. For a 10-staff SG SME with monthly payroll of S$35,000, that's S$3,400/mo extra without revenue lift to match. AI-augmented workflows are the most accessible lever to absorb this without cutting headcount or quality.

§ 06 — Read the original

Two ways to verify.

We don't paraphrase. The original report is publicly available — download our archived copy below, or visit the publisher directly.

We archive every cited PDF locally so the link never breaks. You can download our copy above, or grab the latest version directly from the publisher's site.

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