On paper, Southeast Asia is certainly one of the fastest-growing regions on the planet. But for thousands and thousands of staff, this growth is not necessarily reflected of their wallets, let alone their day by day schedules. Data from official statistics agencies and international labor market surveys show the region has certainly one of the world’s biggest contrasts: long working hours and deeply unequal incomes.
Singapore stands out as an outlier that distorts the image of the region. According to the 2024 Labor Force Survey conducted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the typical monthly salary within the country has reached S$5,500, or about S$4,100 per thirty days.
On the opposite hand, in response to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO), in Vietnam, the typical monthly income of formal staff was only about VND 8.4 million in the primary half of 2024, reminiscent of about $330. In the identical region, the difference is over twelve times.
Working hours: legal restrictions and reality in the sector
In almost every country in Southeast Asia, legal working hours are between 40 and 48 hours per week. But the actual numbers say otherwise.
In Indonesia, the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reported in August 2025 that one in 4 staff, or 25.47%, worked greater than 49 hours per week. This exceeds the permissible limit of 40 hours set out in national labor law. Among male employees, this percentage was even higher and amounted to twenty-eight.50%.
Cambodia consistently records the very best actual working hours in Southeast Asia. Figures from the International Labor Organization (ILO) show that average working hours are around 47 hours every week, largely driven by the clothing and construction sectors, which rely heavily on informal work.
Singapore, despite rating highest when it comes to wages, recorded a median workweek of 42.6 hours in response to Remote’s 2024 Global Work-Life Balance Index. The country was ranked twenty sixth out of 60 countries globally and scored the very best in Southeast Asia for work-life balance.
The Philippines presents perhaps the sharpest contrast. With average working hours of 40.63 hours per week and a minimum wage of $1.45 per hour, the country ranked 59th out of 60 countries included in the identical index, only one place above Nigeria.
Income: A spot too big to disregard
Malaysia is certainly one of the countries with essentially the most transparent employment data within the region. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) releases monthly data, and as of December 2024, the median salary within the formal sector was RM3,045 or about $680 per thirty days, up 5% from the previous yr.
However, the country’s internal inequality stays significant, with the highest 10% of staff earning RM10,800 or more, almost seven times greater than the underside 10% of staff who earned RM1,500 or less.
An Aon survey of over 950 corporations in six Southeast Asian countries conducted between July and September 2024 showed a trend towards competitive salary increases. Vietnam leads with a projected wage increase of 6.7% in 2025, followed by Indonesia with 6.3%, the Philippines with 5.8%, Malaysia with 5.0%, Thailand with 4.7% and Singapore with 4.4%.
Ironically, the very best increases are going down in countries with the bottom levels of basic wages, reflecting increasing pressure from rising costs of living.
What the numbers cannot let you know
Average salary data represents the typical, not the median. This signifies that a small variety of high-income staff in sectors equivalent to finance and technology can significantly raise the statistical average, without reflecting the fact faced by the bulk.
In Indonesia, for instance, the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recorded a median monthly net salary of three.27 million rupiah in August 2024. However, this figure covers an especially wide selection – from mining staff earning 5.23 million rupiah to staff in other service sectors earning just one.99 million rupiah.
Figures for Brunei show that average wages within the formal sector are around $1,700 per thirty days based on International Labor Organization (ILO) tallies, although the country’s economy stays heavily focused on oil and gas.
Meanwhile, several ASEAN member states, including Laos, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, proceed to face severe constraints in the supply of labor data as a consequence of the prevalence of informal employment and underdeveloped statistical data collection capabilities.
Data Summary: Working Hours and Wages in Southeast Asia
Gross average refers to average pre-tax income, which tends to look higher since it is skewed by a small variety of individuals with very high incomes. The median refers back to the middle value and is usually more representative of the conditions experienced by most staff. The symbol (~) denotes estimates based on ILO and Trading Economics compilations.
| Country | Gross average/month (USD) | Median/month (USD) | Median data availability | Actual working hours/week | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | ~$5,056 | ~$4,100 | Available (MOM) | ~42.6 hours | ||
| Brunei | ~$1,708 | Limited data | — | ~40 hours | ||
| Malaysia | ~$797 | ~$680 | Available (DOSM) | ~45 hours | ||
| Thailand | ~$488 | Limited data | — | ~41 hours | ||
| Philippines | ~$376 | Limited data | — | ~40.6 hours | ||
| Indonesia | ~$358 | Limited data | — | ~41 hours (25.47% work in 49 hours) | ||
| Cambodia | ~$336 | Limited data | — | ~47 hours | ||
| Vietnam | ~$330 | Limited data | — | ~42 hours | ||
| Myanmar | ~$214 | Limited data | — | ~44–46 hours | ||
| East Timor | ~$175 | Limited data | — | Limited data | ||
| Laos | ~$111 | Limited data | — | ~41 hours |
Note: There are two notes to know about consistency
- Singapore’s median (~$4,100) refers back to the median monthly salary of S$5,500 as reported by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), converted using an exchange rate of roughly 0.745. Meanwhile, the typical gross amount (~$5,056) comes from ILO/wage.is tabulations based on S$6,429, which incorporates employer contributions to CPF, meaning it’s higher than the median.
- For Malaysia, the median gross amount of US$797 is from the ILO compilation, while the median gross amount of US$680 is predicated on DOSM data for the fourth quarter of 2024 (RM3,045).
