Singapore Fresh Graduate Unemployment Falls by Half Within a Year

Seven in 10 Singapore university graduates who were still unemployed six months after their final exams had found jobs by the one-year mark, according to new government data released in a written parliamentary response on Nov 3. The figure reframes what had looked like a weak graduate labour market: fresh jobseekers are taking longer to land roles, but most get there eventually.

What do the one-year numbers show?

Education Minister Desmond Lee, responding to a question from MP Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC), reported improvements across every tertiary track. Among polytechnic graduates unemployed at six months, roughly eight in 10 had found paid work or enrolled in full-time study at local institutes of higher learning by the one-year mark. For Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates, the figure was nine in 10.

Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau, in a separate parliamentary reply the same day, gave the same story in rate form:

• Autonomous university 2025 graduates: unemployment fell from 16.6% at six months to 7% at one year
• Private education institution (PEI) graduates: 24.1% down to 7.1%
• Polytechnic graduates: 12.8% down to 3.2%

Why the six-month picture looked worse

The graduate employment survey, released on March 5, showed 74.4% of university graduates in full-time roles six months after graduation in 2025 — down from 79.4% in 2024. That drop triggered concerns about graduate prospects.

The six autonomous universities had already said, in a joint statement, that past cohorts show employment rates improving beyond the six-month mark. They blamed more cautious hiring amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical developments, plus a moderation in job vacancies from their post-pandemic peak.

Which fields are struggling most?

Lau, answering MP Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang GRC), broke unemployment down by field of study. Sciences, engineering, and arts, design and media posted the highest six-month unemployment rates among 2025 autonomous university graduates, ranging from about 22.5% to 19.9%. For PEI graduates, information and digital technologies fared worst, at 34.2%.

She also noted a caveat on polytechnic figures: a large proportion of poly graduates pursue further studies, and that share varies significantly across course clusters.

What the data can't tell you

Lee said the Education Ministry (MOE) tracks cohorts beyond the six-month survey using administrative records. Those records have limits. They show only whether a graduate is in paid employment — not whether the job is full-time or permanent. And the ministry cannot determine what share remains genuinely unemployed at 12 months.

"The remaining graduates without paid employment records could be pursuing studies in private education institutions or overseas, or working overseas or as freelancers," Lee said.

What it means for your job search

If you graduated in 2025 and you're still searching at six months, the base rates are on your side: most of your cohort's unemployed found work or study within another six months. But the field-level spread is wide. A sciences or digital-technology graduate faces unemployment rates two to three times those of the graduate average, so a longer runway — further study, adjacent roles, contract work — is a realistic part of the plan rather than a fallback.

For 2026 cohorts, the trajectory will hinge on whether employer caution eases and whether vacancies continue to moderate from their post-pandemic peak — the two factors the universities themselves identified.