Singaporean households earned more from work last year compared to the year before, but wage growth moderated, with bottom earners being the hardest hit. SMU Vice President of Business Development & External Relations, Associate Professor of Finance Annie Koh said: "I think if you look at the bottom 10th percentile, if you look at just the headline figures alone, you would be asking 'what are the jobs, what are the descriptions and what are they paid at', and essentially those wages do not move. So again with inflation variable being higher this year than last year, if your real wages went down, it's because your nominal wage did not change. Inflation hits you and therefore in real terms, you're actually taking back less.” Analysts argued that year-on-year, the Government needed to look into setting aside more funds for social transfers. Assoc Prof Koh said: "So if you're looking at a budget surplus that's coming up, everyone's expecting it -- they'll say 'why isn't the government helping us as we tide over this period waiting for this upskilling to get the higher wages coming'."