Fewer fresh graduates from local universities found full-time work in 2025, according to survey

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Full-time permanent employment rate in 2025 for fresh university graduates continues downward trend

Fewer fresh university graduates in Singapore secured full-time permanent jobs in 2025, according to the latest Graduate Employment Survey published by the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The survey, jointly conducted by Singapore’s six autonomous universities — National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Social Sciences — found that 74.4% of fresh graduates secured full-time permanent employment in 2025, according to The Straits Times.

Source: NTU

This marks a decline from 79.4% in 2024, suggesting a tougher job market for new graduates.

Despite this, graduates who secured full-time permanent roles saw slightly higher salaries, with median starting salaries slightly increasing across the board.

Median starting salaries remain stable

According to The Straits Times, the median gross monthly salary for fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment remained at S$4,500 in 2025, unchanged from the previous year.

The survey defines full-time permanent employment as work of at least 35 hours a week, where the employment is not temporary. It includes those on contracts lasting one year or more.

Source: Jobstreet

Salary outcomes varied based on course clusters.

Graduates from Information and Digital Technologies continued to command the highest pay, with a median monthly salary of S$5,500, identical to its past two years.

Meanwhile, graduates from other fields recorded increases in median salaries, including:

Engineering: S$4,600 in 2025, up from S$4,528 in 2024
Business: S$4,400 in 2025, up from S$4,350 in 2024
Humanities & Social Sciences: S$4,350 in 2025, up from S$4,250 in 2024
Sciences: S$4,200 in 2025, up from S$4,125 in 2024

Overall employment outcomes also dipped

The proportion of graduates who secured employment within six months of completing their final examinations was 88.9%, a decline from 91.2% last year.

At the same time, a larger share of graduates reported difficulties finding full-time employment.

The percentage of graduates who applied for jobs but did not receive any offers rose to 8.5%, a rise from 5.7% in 2024, Channel NewsAsia reported.

Meanwhile, 7.2% of graduates opted to work in part-time or temporary roles, slightly higher than the 6% recorded in 2024.

Source: NUS

While some course clusters continue to record relatively high full-time permanent employment rates, ranging from 78% to nearly 90%, overall rates have declined across all fields.

The Arts, Design & Media course cluster saw the steepest drop, with full-time employment rates falling to 50%, down from 62% in 2024.

For the latest survey, 19,887 fresh graduates and 771 follow-up graduates from the six autonomous universities were surveyed in November 2025.

The survey measures graduates’ employment outcomes about six months after completing their final examinations, providing an indication of how each graduating cohort fares in the job market.

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