What is the HES 2022/23 about?
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What is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
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Is Singapore the only country conducting the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
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Which agency is responsible for the management of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
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Why does the Department of Statistics (DOS) conduct the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
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How is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) conducted?
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Who is required to take part in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
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Who will be required to keep the expenditure records for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
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How are the households covered in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) selected?
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What information is collected in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
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How long would it take to complete the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
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What are the different ways to participate in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
- Is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) compulsory?
- What safeguards are there to ensure that my information provided for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is kept in confidence?
- How reliable, accurate and comprehensive will the results of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 be?
- Where can I find data from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
- Can the department obtain my information required for HES from government agencies instead?
- What do I get for participating in the HES 2022/23?
What if I am not interested…
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Can I opt out of the HES?
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What actions can be taken if a person refuses to participate or cooperate in the HES?
1. What is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is conducted by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) once in every five years to collect detailed information on households’ expenditure and data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics as well as ownership of consumer durables. It is carried out over a one-year period to cover households’ expenditure on all festive seasons.
DOS is currently conducting the HES 2022/23 from November 2022 to November 2023.
2. Is Singapore the only country conducting the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
Many countries, including United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, conduct surveys of a similar nature to the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).
Further information on the surveys conducted by other countries may be found on the website of the International Labour Organization or via the websites of the respective National Statistical Offices.
3. Which agency is responsible for the management of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS), under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is responsible for the management and operations of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23.
4. Why does the Department of Statistics (DOS) conduct the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
The Department of Statistics (DOS) conducts the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) to collect detailed information on the latest consumption expenditure of resident households in Singapore.
One main use of the HES is to update the weighting pattern and the basket of goods and services for the compilation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The CPI is an indicator of inflation and measures the price changes of a fixed basket of selected consumer goods and services commonly purchased by households.
The HES also provides insights to how consumers’ lifestyle and spending habits change over time. Findings from the HES are published for use by public and private sector organisations as well as members of the public.
5. How is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) conducted?
The Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) conducts the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) once in every five years.
For the ongoing HES 2022/23, households selected for the survey may provide their responses via the HES Online Submission form. For more information on how to proceed with the online submission, please refer to the online User Guide.
Survey officers will also visit households who have yet to respond or require assistance, to explain the details and assist them in the survey. They will carry an official identification card and a Letter of Authorisation from our Department.
The HES is conducted under the provisions of the Statistics Act 1973. All information supplied by respondents will be kept in confidence in accordance with the Statistics Act.
6. Who is required to take part in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
For the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23, a sample of some 13,000 dwelling units will be surveyed. All persons staying in the selected dwelling units will be required to take part in the HES 2022/23.
7. Who will be required to keep the expenditure records for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
All members of the selected households who are aged 14 years and above (as at 1 December 2022) are required to keep the expenditure records for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23.
8. How are the households covered in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) selected?
The sample for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 is selected from a sampling frame comprising all residential dwelling units in Singapore, based on a stratified design with disproportionate allocation.
Dwelling units in the sampling frame were divided into different groups (or strata) using information such as broad dwelling type and geographical region. A random sample was then selected from each group and combined to form the required sample of about 13,000 dwelling units.
As the HES is a sample survey, while a particular household may be selected to participate in the HES, the neighbouring household(s) may not also be selected.
9. What information is collected in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) collects information on:
- Regular household expenses
- Food, bus/train fares, mobile phone bills, school/tuition fees, premiums paid
on term insurance etc.
- Major but less frequent expenses.
- Household appliances, furniture, cars, renovation etc.
- Expenditure incurred on overseas vacation travel and significant events such as wedding.
- Household-related information
- Household composition, home ownership, ownership of additional properties and access to consumer durables.
- Income from various sources such as employment, business, rental.
The detailed list of data items covered in the previous HES 2017/18 is shown in Annex A(iii) to Annex A(viii) of the Report on the Household Expenditure Survey 2017/18.
10. How long would it take to complete the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
The duration for completing the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 questionnaire depends on the number of persons in each household. For a typical household of 3 – 4 persons, the average time taken to complete the initial questionnaire is expected to be about 45 – 60 minutes.
Members of the households aged 14 years and over will also be required to complete the expenditure recording over a two-week survey period. During this period, survey officers will visit and/or call households to assist with the recording.
11. What are the different ways to participate in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23?
Households can submit the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 survey forms via the HES Online Submission form and/or complete the survey with an interviewer via face-to-face interviews.
You may call our HES Hotline at 1800-888-2223 (Mondays to Fridays 9am to 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 9pm, excluding public holidays) to arrange for an appointment or wait for the interviewers to visit.
12. Is the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) compulsory?
Households covered in the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 are selected using an established sampling method to ensure accurate representation of the population. Each household’s participation in the HES 2022/23 is crucial to ensure that representative data are collected.
HES 2022/23 is conducted under the Statistics Act 1973 which requires all selected households to provide the necessary information for the survey. Information collected will be kept in the strictest confidence in accordance with the Statistics Act.
We value and seek the understanding and co-operation of all selected households in participating in the HES 2022/23.
13. What safeguards are there to ensure that my information provided for the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is kept in confidence?
The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) is conducted under the Statistics Act 1973 which requires all selected households to provide the necessary information. All responses will be kept in the strictest confidence in accordance with the Statistics Act.
All our Department’s survey officers handling the individual survey information are required to sign the undertakings under the Statistics Act as well as the Official Secrets Act. They are fully aware of the provisions and the need to safeguard such information. The information collected will be used solely for statistical purposes.
14. How reliable, accurate and comprehensive will the results of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 be?
The accuracy of the results of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2022/23 will depend on the responses provided by the respondents. The full co-operation of the respondents is therefore very critical to the success of this national survey.
15. Where can I find data from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES)?
Latest available data on the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) are available in the Report on the Household Expenditure Survey 2017/18.
The HES 2017/18 data are also available on the SingStat Table Builder. You can view them via the following selections: Households > Household Expenditure > Household Expenditure Survey
16. Can the department obtain my information required for HES from government agencies instead?
Our Department has used administrative data from government departments where available to update our statistical database and supplement data collected in our survey. These include basic demographic information such as age, sex, ethnicity. However, not all data required are available from other government agencies.
The information not available from other government agencies are collected from households during HES 2022/23, and we appreciate respondents’ understanding and co-operation in providing the information.
17. What do I get for participating in the HES 2022/23?
In appreciation of households' co-operation and participation, we will present households with a token of appreciation upon completion of the survey. For the HES 2022/23, each household can receive $25 Dairy Farm group vouchers.
18. Can I opt out of the HES?
Households covered in the HES 2022/23 are selected using established sampling method to ensure representativeness of the sample. Each household’s participation in the HES 2022/23 is crucial to ensure that representative data are collected. HES 2022/23 is conducted under the Statistics Act 1973 which requires all selected households to provide the necessary information for the survey. The Act also ensures that the confidentiality of your return is safeguarded.
19. What actions can be taken if a person refuses to participate or cooperate in the HES?
The HES 2022/23 is a compulsory survey conducted under the Statistics Act 1973. Any person who refuses to answer, or knowingly provides false information, or hinders the performance of a HES officer, shall be guilty of an offence. The penalties stated in the Statistics Act 1973 include a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.