{"id":33749,"date":"2026-03-05T17:42:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=33749"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:42:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:42:38","slug":"fewer-fresh-spore-uni-graduates-in-2025-found-full-time-work-but-pay-held-steady-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=33749","title":{"rendered":"Fewer fresh S\u2019pore uni graduates in 2025 found full-time work, but pay held steady: Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE &#8211; Graduates fresh out of local universities saw a further drop in employment, especially for full-time roles, though salaries held steady.   <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Results from the latest graduate employment survey, released on March 5, showed that 74.4 per cent of graduates secured full-time positions in 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/fewer-uni-graduates-in-2024-found-full-time-work-though-more-had-higher-pay-survey?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">down from 79.4 per cent in 2024.<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Overall, a higher proportion of graduates entered the labour force, from 90.7 per cent in 2024, to 92.2 per cent in 2025. This refers to those who are either working or unemployed but actively looking for a job. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Among those who did find full-time jobs, the median gross monthly salary stayed at $4,500 in 2025, the same as in 2024. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A higher proportion of graduates applied for jobs but did not get any offers in 2025, rising to 8.5 per cent from 5.7 per cent in 2024, and 4.1 per cent in 2023. At the same time, more graduates took on part-time or temporary employment, with 7.2 per cent doing so in 2025, from 6 per cent in 2024, and 4.1 per cent in 2023. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The joint statement from the six local universities said the number of job vacancies has moderated from the post-pandemic peak, driven by reduced churn and slower hiring.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThis reflects a more cautious hiring sentiment amid broader economic uncertainty and geopolitical developments. While there continues to be entry-level job opportunities, some outward-oriented sectors, such as information and communications, saw more subdued hiring compared with previous years,\u201d said the statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It added that the survey reflects graduate employment outcomes six months after graduation, and these generally improve beyond the six-month mark, based on past cohorts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Based on labour market data from the Ministry of Manpower, about four in 10 entry-level vacancies for fresh graduates are in growth sectors such as financial and insurance services and professional services, and in occupations such as financial compliance officers, risk analysts and auditors, the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Starting in <!-- -->2026<!-- -->, the survey\u2019s results reflect whether graduates have secured employment or not, instead of the previous employed-unemployed split.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This change started with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/parenting-education\/full-time-employment-held-steady-for-fresh-poly-graduates-in-2025-with-starting-pay-on-the-rise?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">latest graduate employment survey by the five polytechnics<\/p>\n<p><\/a> released earlier on Jan 15. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Those who have secured employment include graduates who are already working \u2013 full-time, freelance or part-time \u2013 as well as those who have accepted a job offer and will start later, or are actively taking steps to start a business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In past iterations, the \u201cemployed\u201d category captured only those who were already in a job at the point of the survey, while those due to start jobs later or setting up businesses were counted as unemployed.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base none\" title=\"dynamic_iframe_wrapper\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/19vC1\/3\/\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;undefinedclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The latest results also, for the first time, gave more details about graduates who have not secured work. This group falls into three categories: those who received but rejected job offers, those who applied but did not receive any offers, and those who did not look for full-time work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Some 14,400 graduates from full-time programmes at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Social Sciences took part in this survey, representing a response rate of 73.7 per cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">They were surveyed by the six universities on their employment status as at Nov 1, 2025, about six months after the completion of their final examinations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Health sciences, built environment, and information and digital technologies were the three course clusters that continued to record the highest full-time permanent employment rates for graduates in 2025, ranging from about 78 per cent to 89 per cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Graduates of information and digital technologies courses continued to take home the highest monthly pay, at $5,500 in 2025 \u2013 the same as in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Graduates who need help in their job search can reach out to their universities for career coaching and attend career fairs. They may also tap resources from Workforce Singapore or NTUC\u2019s Employment and Employability Institute, or explore the Graduate Industry Traineeships and GRIT@Gov programmes launched in October 2025.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base none\" title=\"dynamic_iframe_wrapper\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/sNumd\/3\/\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;undefinedclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said the 5 percentage point drop in graduates securing full-time employment in 2025 is \u201cnot insignificant\u201d, suggesting that it is getting more challenging for fresh graduates to find permanent employment. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThat said, the outlook is uncertain but not necessarily bleak as almost three in four are still employed, but it may take longer to get the job,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ms Ling said this is due to a combination of cyclical economic caution and structural changes in the labour market, such as how entry-level jobs may be increasingly automated by artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She added that geopolitical and tariff uncertainties may have slowed down capital expenditure \u2013 investments a company makes to grow or maintain its business operations \u2013 and hiring needs in the short term. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cFor the vacancies employers need to fill, they may prefer experienced staff or those with specialised skills, or they may choose to employ contract or temporary staff for the junior roles until there is greater clarity,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Fresh university graduate Crystal Yong, a full-time management associate at Resorts World Sentosa, described the job hunt as tiring. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The 23-year-old who studied marketing analytics started applying for full-time jobs at the start of her final year in SMU, with her eye on management associate roles. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She applied to nearly 30 roles, around half of which she did not hear back from.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ms Yong said she felt demoralised when she was turned down for a management associate position at a company she had interned at, after reaching the final round of interviews.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">She discovered her interest in the tourism industry and working with colleagues from around the world, through marketing internships in Bangkok and Bali, under SMU\u2019s ASEAN Internship Programme. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Ms Yong received two job offers in March 2025, a month before graduating, and chose the one that better aligned with her interest in tourism. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI\u2019m happy with where I am right now,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/parenting-education\/fewer-fresh-uni-graduates-in-2025-found-full-time-work-but-pay-held-steady-survey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE &#8211; Graduates fresh out of local universities saw a further drop in employment, especially for full-time roles, though salaries held steady. Results from the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}