SINGAPORE - Civil servants will receive a year-end bonus of 0.5 month this year as the already-bruised economy continues to slow.

But for the 1,900 lower-wage workers, the payout will be at least $900, said the Public Service Division (PSD) in a statement on Friday (Nov 25).

Giving an example, the statement said an officer earning $1,500 a month will get a year-end bonus of $900, which is $150 more than what he would get at 0.50 month of his monthly salary.

Together with a mid-year bonus of 0.45 month, which they have already received, and the traditional 13th-month payout to be given next month, civil servants will get a total of 1.95 months bonus this year.

This is 0.2 month lower than last year, a decline the PSD said is "in line with the lower economic growth for 2016 compared with 2015".

The Singapore economy expanded 1.1 per cent in the third quarter compared to 2 per cent in the same quarter late year.

On Thursday (Nov24), the Ministry of Trade and Industry revised downwards its growth forecast for the whole of this year. The new forecast is 1 to 1.5 per cent, from 1.0 to 2.0 per cent.

The civil service year-end bonus is closely watched by the private sector, which uses the figure as a guide for its bonus payments.

The payout was welcomed by unions, especially the minimum amount assured for lower-wage workers.

"It is a timely sum to help our members cope with year-end expenditures such as their children's education and back-to-school spending," said Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers general secretary G. Muthukumarasamy.