Graduating from a Singapore university? Survey shows private grads lag in jobs, pay gap widens

Malay Mail

6 days ago

One in four private university graduates working part-time or jobless
Nearly 80 per cent of public university graduates landed full-time jobs within six months
Median monthly pay for full-time employees at S$3,500 in 2024, compared to S$3,400 in 2023
Best earners are IT graduates with a median salary of S$4,080 (RM14,280)
SINGAPORE, May 27 — Fewer than half of private university graduates in Singapore secured full-time jobs this year, reflecting a cooling job market despite marginally better pay.
Only 46.4 per cent landed full-time work in 2024, down from 58.7 per cent last year, The Straits Times reported today, citing findings from the Private Education Institution Graduate Employment Survey by SkillsFuture Singapore released on April 26.
More took on part-time or temporary roles, rising to 24.2 per cent from 18.9 per cent in 2023.
Freelancing dipped to 4.2 per cent, while overall employment – including part-time and freelance – fell to 74.8 per cent, from 83.2 per cent last year.
Salaries inched up, with the median monthly pay for full-time hires at S$3,500 (RM12,250), compared to S$3,400 (RM11,900) in 2023.
Graduates from Parkway College and ERC Institute earned the most at S$4,000 (RM14,000), followed by SIM grads at S$3,600 (RM12,600).
But they still lag far behind their peers from public universities like the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who earned a median of S$4,500 (RM15,750).
Nearly 80 per cent of public university grads secured full-time jobs within six months, with just 1.6 per cent freelancing.
Polytechnic graduates saw a salary bump to S$3,000 (RM10,500) after serving in Singapore's national service, from S$2,963 (RM10,370) last year.
The survey covered 3,500 graduates from 27 private institutions, including James Cook University and PSB Academy.
Of these, 2,300 were in the labour force, defined as working or actively job-hunting.
A worrying 28.3 per cent were either unemployed or stuck in involuntary part-time or temp jobs – far higher than the 10.7 per cent rate for public university graduates and 7.2 per cent for polytechnic graduates.
Engineering graduates from private institutions fared best, with 55.3 per cent in full-time roles, followed by science graduates at 51.8 per cent.
Information and digital tech graduates earned the highest median salary at S$4,080 (RM14,280), followed by those from the humanities and social sciences at S$3,500 (RM12,250).