Fewer Singapore graduates found jobs within 6 months in 2025, survey shows

SINGAPORE: The latest graduate employment survey, which was released on Thursday (March 5), showed that fewer Singapore university graduates found jobs within six months of finishing their exams.

In 2024, 87.1 per cent of graduates found employment within half a year. Last year, this figure went down to 83.4 per cent. The results of the survey showed a continuing decline from 2022.

Moreover, the median monthly salary has stayed the same over the past year at S$4,500.

The results of the survey reflect “a more cautious hiring sentiment amid broader economic uncertainty and geopolitical developments,” the statement said.

There are also fewer job openings in outward-facing sectors such as information and communications.

The Joint Graduate Employment Survey is conducted by the six Autonomous Universities: the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, the Singapore Management University, the Singapore University of Social Sciences, the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and the Singapore Institute of Technology each year to collect information regarding the employment status of graduates six months after they take their final exams. A total of 19,887 fresh and 771 follow-up graduates from these institutions were surveyed in November 2025.

Notably, the survey employed a new method of measurement, counting those who have been employed but have yet to begin in it, as well as those who are starting a business as having secured employment.

If this definition is used, 88.9 per cent secured employment in 2025, whereas in the year before, the figure was 91.2 per cent.

The survey also showed that the number of graduates who looked for work rose from 90.7 per cent in 2024 to 92.2 per cent last year.

However, those who found full-time permanent jobs have decreased from 79.4 per cent to 74.4 per cent.

As for part-time or temporary workers, the number rose from 6 per cent in 2024 to 7.2 per cent last year. Notably, most of them (3.1 per cent) said this choice was involuntary, whereas in 2024, this figure was at 2.3 per cent.

Moreover, 8.8 per cent of graduates did not secure employment in 2024. In 2025, this figure rose to 11.1 per cent. The universities noted, however, that in general, graduate employment outcomes get better after the six-month mark.

The results of the latest graduate employment survey may be found here. /TISG

Read related: Salary for fresh graduates higher in 2024, but fewer were employed 6 months after finishing uni