Significant Improvements for Graduates from Autonomous Universities Post-Pandemic
Fresh graduates from Singapore’s four autonomous universities experienced higher full-time employment rates and salaries in 2022 compared to previous years, including those prior to the pandemic, according to the latest annual survey.
The median monthly salary for fresh graduates in full-time positions was S$4,200, a notable increase from S$3,800 in 2021, S$3,700 in 2020, and S$3,600 in 2019. The full-time employment rate also saw a rise, reaching 87.5 per cent in 2022, up from 84 per cent in 2021, 69.8 per cent in 2020, and 81.7 per cent in 2019.
Decline in Part-Time Employment
The percentage of fresh graduates in part-time jobs decreased significantly, dropping to 4.5 per cent in 2022 from 8.7 per cent in 2021 and 22.3 per cent in 2020. This was attributed to both involuntary and voluntary part-time employment falling to 0.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.
However, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.2 per cent in 2022 from 5.6 per cent in 2021, though this remained an improvement compared to 6.4 per cent in 2020.
Leading Fields: Information Technology, Engineering, and Business
As in previous years, graduates in information and digital technology saw the highest median salaries and full-time employment rates. The median salary for this group increased to S$5,625, up from S$5,000 in 2021, with a full-time employment rate of 93.5 per cent.
Graduates from engineering and business courses followed with median salaries of S$4,600 and S$4,100, respectively, and both groups reported full-time employment rates above 90 per cent. Health sciences graduates had the second-highest employment rate at 92.9 per cent, though their median salary was lower, at S$3,700.
University-Specific Trends
At Nanyang Technological University (NTU), computing graduates and those with a double degree in business and computer engineering earned the highest salaries, with monthly wages of S$6,500. Similarly, computer science graduates at the National University of Singapore (NUS) had the highest median salaries of S$6,600. NUS law graduates from 2021, after completing their pupillage, earned a median salary of S$6,400, while law graduates from Singapore Management University (SMU) earned the highest median salary at S$6,375.
Success at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)
The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) highlighted its impressive employment rates for graduates in supply chain management (98.4 per cent), finance (97.2 per cent), and accountancy (96.4 per cent).
The graduate employment survey covered 12,100 fresh graduates from full-time programmes at NUS, NTU, SMU, and SUSS, with data collected six months after their final exams. A separate follow-up survey included nearly 800 graduates from courses requiring post-graduate practical training before they could begin practising.
