However, the percentage of those who secured full-time positions within that timeframe fell to 79.5% from 84.1% in 2023, according to the 2024 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey recently released.
The survey was conducted by five universities in the city-state, namely the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Social Sciences, and Singapore University of Technology and Design.
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The commencement ceremony of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Law Faculty and other faculties at the NUS University Cultural Centre, July 3, 2007. Photo by SPH Media via AFP |
It gathered responses from 12,500 graduates, who completed their studies last year and are part of the labor force, on their employment status as of Nov 1, 2024, roughly six months after their final exams.
Employment rates declined across various occupations last year amid global economic uncertainties and weaker hiring demand, according to Mothership.sg, citing the same survey.
Fresh graduates in the health sciences sector experienced the steepest drop, with 91.2% securing jobs soon after graduation in 2024, down from 97.6% in 2023.
The share of unemployed graduates, including those actively seeking employment or preparing to start work or a business, increased to 12.9% from 10.4% in 2023, as reported by CNA.
Among those employed, 6% held part-time or temporary positions, an increase from 4% the previous year.
Selena Ling, chief economist for lender OCBC, told The Straits Times: “It is also likely that the robustness of job offers and hiring intentions vary across the different industries – growth industries like IT and digital economy, health sciences and biomedical are faring better, whereas those catering to food and beverage services, transportation, and professional services have seen cooling employment prospects.”
She added that while the fresh graduate unemployment rate is not ideal, it would be “more worrying” if graduates were still unemployed after 12 months.
Dr. Kelvin Seah, a senior lecturer in economics at NUS, similarly noted the drop in employment rates could merely be a “temporary short-term fluctuation” as escalating geopolitical tensions and trade disputes have added to business uncertainty.
Around 6% of graduates took up part-time or temporary roles, up from 4% in 2023, while those with freelance work rose 0.1 percentage points to 1.6%. The survey said most of them take these jobs voluntarily.
Last year, graduates from health sciences, business, and information and digital technologies had the highest full-time permanent employment rates, ranging between 83-88%.
Those from information and digital technologies programs earned the highest median monthly salary, at S$5,600. This was up from 2023’s S$5,500.
The business sector saw the biggest salary growth, rising from S$4,150 in 2023 to S$4,400 in 2024, according to The Independence Singapore.
In contrast, salaries for arts, design, and media graduates recorded the smallest gain, growing from S$3,740 to S$3,800 over the same period.
