More Fresh Graduates In S’pore Found Full-Time Jobs In 2022, Gross Monthly Salary Higher: Survey

93.8% Of Fresh Graduates Employed But 87.5% In Full-Time Jobs: Graduate Employment Survey 2022

When one graduates from university, the elation of achievement soon gives way to concern over the future.

That’s because many fresh graduates are stepping into the unknown, uncertain whether they can find a job.

The good news is that more of them found full-time jobs last year.

However, more of them were also unemployed within six months of their final exams, as compared to those who graduated in 2021.

How could this be? Read on to find out.

Over 12,110 fresh grads from 4 universities polled

These findings were revealed in the Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey 2022 (JAUGES2022), released on Monday (20 Feb).

The findings were the result of polling more than 12,110 fresh graduates from four of Singapore’s autonomous universities:

1. National University of Singapore (NUS)
2. Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
3. Singapore Management University (SMU)
4. Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)

The grads were surveyed in November 2022 — about six months after they finished the final exams of their full-time courses.

The surveys for graduates from two more universities – the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) – are still ongoing.

93.8% of fresh graduates employed in Nov 2022

Firstly, we have to define ’employment’ as any kind of paid position — whether full-time, part-time, temporary or freelance.

JAUGES2022 noted that 93.8% of fresh grads found employment six months after their exams.

Among them, 87.5% were in full-time jobs — the rest were freelancing or in part-time or temporary employment.

This figure for full-time employment is higher than that of 2021 when 84% of fresh grads were in full-time jobs.

Fewer fresh graduates found jobs in 2022

However, the percentage of fresh graduates who were actually employed fell in 2022 — it was 94.4% in 2021.

That means while fewer of them found any kind of employment within six months, those who found employment were more likely to have found a full-time job.

Notably, the percentage of fresh grads in part-time or temporary jobs fell to 4.5% — from 8.7% in 2021.

Of the 6.2% of fresh grads unemployed in 2022, 2.6% had found jobs and were starting work soon.

3.6% of them, though, were still looking for a job.

Salaries of full-timers went up

Those who found full-time jobs were apparently also in the money.

Their median gross monthly salary went up in 2022 to S$4,200, compared with S$3,800 in 2021.

The gross monthly salary comprises the basic salary and any other regular cash payments before CPF deductions and income tax payments.

Unsurprisingly, those who graduated from information and digital technologies courses enjoyed the greatest pay increases.

Their median gross monthly salary soared from S$5,000 in 2021 to S$5,625 in 2022.

They were also the highest earners among those surveyed since graduates from courses like law and medicine are considered follow-up graduates who require post-graduate practical training before full-time employment.

Across the board, though, all full-timers’ salaries went up except for dentists and arts, design and media course graduates, whose salaries were unchanged.

IT grads have highest percentage of full-timers

Those who studied IT also seemed to have the greatest chance of finding a full-time job.

In terms of courses, fresh graduates from information and digital technologies had the highest percentage of full-time job holders.

This was followed by those who graduated from health sciences and engineering.

The list excludes those who graduated from dentistry and teaching courses (both 100%).

As the Covid-19 situation improves, let’s hope our fresh graduates will have an easier time in the job market.

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Featured image adapted from Roy Pek on Flickr.