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The manufacturing sector contracted by 3% year-on-year in Q4 2022, a reversal from the 1.4% growth in the previous quarter.
Advance estimates by Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) are in, and the numbers show the economy having grown by 3.8% in 2022 as a whole, slower than the 7.6% growth witnessed in 2021.
Based on quarter projections, the GDP grew by 2.2% on a year-on-year basis for Q4 2022, slowing down from the 4.2% growth rate seen in Q3 2022. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 0.2%, extending the 1.1% expansion in the third quarter.
To note, these are advance GDP estimates. Numbers for Q4 2022 are computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter (i.e., October and November 2022). They are intended as an early indication of GDP growth in the quarter and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data becomes available.
The preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and whole of 2022, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, will be released in the Economic Survey of Singapore in February 2023.
Manufacturing sector
The manufacturing sector contracted by 3% year-on-year in Q4 2022, a reversal from the 1.4% growth in the previous quarter. This came on the back of output contractions in the electronics, chemicals, and biomedical manufacturing clusters, which outweighed output expansions in the precision engineering, transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the manufacturing sector expanded by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, a turnaround from the 3.9% contraction in the preceding quarter.
Construction sector
The construction sector grew by 10.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, accelerating from the 7.8% growth in the previous quarter, as both public and private sector construction output continued to recover. However, in absolute terms, the value-added of the construction sector remained 19.3% below its pre-pandemic (i.e., Q4 2019) level.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the sector expanded by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, extending the 3.8 per cent expansion in the third quarter.
Services sector
Among the services sectors, the wholesale & retail trade and transportation & storage sectors collectively grew by 2.3% year-on-year in Q4 2022, slower than the 5.7% growth in the previous quarter. All sectors within the group recorded expansions during the quarter. Within the wholesale & retail trade sector, both wholesale trade and retail trade activities expanded.
Meanwhile, growth in the transportation & storage sector was largely supported by the air transport segment, which saw robust growth on the back of a strong recovery in air passengers handled. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the sectors in the group shrank by 2.2% in Q4 2022, a reversal from the 3.7% in Q3 2022.
The group of sectors comprising the information & communications (infocomm), finance & insurance and professional services sectors grew by 2.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, extending the 3.6% growth in the previous quarter. All sectors within the group expanded during the quarter.
Growth in the information & communications sector was supported by continued strong demand for IT and digital solutions, while that in the professional services sector was mainly driven by the architectural & engineering, technical testing & analysis segment.
As for the finance & insurance sector, growth was primarily supported by activities auxiliary to financial services, which include payment processing activities.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the sectors in the group collectively posted growth of 1.8% per cent in the fourth quarter, faster than the 0.8% growth recorded in the third quarter.
The remaining group of services sectors (i.e., accommodation & food services, real estate, administrative & support services and other services sectors) grew by 8.2% year-on-year in Q4 2022, extending the 9.3% growth in Q3 2022.
All sectors within the group posted expansions during the quarter as activities continued to recover with the lifting of domestic and border restrictions since April 2022. For example, the accommodation sector expanded for the first time since Q2 2021 on account of a strong recovery in international visitor arrivals. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the sectors in the group grew by 1.5% in Q4 2022, easing from the 1.9% expansion in Q3 2022.
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