Skip to main content
About Us

Oral Answer to PQ on Jobs for Fresh Graduates

Statistics and publications

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2403 OF 2023 FOR THE SITTING ON 22 NOVEMBER 2023

QUESTION NO. 5450 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how does the job openings for fresh graduates in the third quarter of 2023 (3Q2023) compare against the same period in 2022; (b) what is the proportion of recently employed fresh graduates who secured (i) contractual and (ii) full-time roles; and (c) considering that the 3Q2023 Labour Market Advance Release reported a decline in the proportion of firms with an intention to hire due to worsened business expectations, what is the Government's assessment of the impact on fresh graduates.

Answer

1.       There is no data on job openings for fresh graduates, which I shall use as a collective term to also include graduates who just finished national service. This is because employers do not usually specify the demographic requirements of job applicants in their job advertisements because this is a breach of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP).

2.       Based on the annual Graduate Employment Survey (GES), employment outcomes for fresh graduates from our Autonomous Universities, Polytechnics, and Institute of Technical Educations (ITEs) have remained strong. Amongst fresh graduates who were looking for jobs, about 90% of the 2022 cohort were employed within six months of graduation. Of those employed, 80% were in full-time permanent employment, which is comparable to pre-COVID levels. The remaining 20% in part-time temporary or freelance employment were mostly in such jobs by choice, with the majority doing so to pursue further studies. The Member asked about the proportion of fresh graduates in contractual roles. The GES does not collect this information. Full-time permanent employment includes contracts lasting one year or more.

3.       While hiring sentiments have dipped in the third quarter of 2023, the overall labour market remains tight. The number of job vacancies has trended down, but remained high at 87,900 as at June 2023, and the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons stood at 1.94. Nonetheless, given the economic headwinds, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and stand ready to assist our graduates. Fresh graduates can reach out to Education and Career Coaches in their IHLs if they require support in their job search or tap on Workforce Singapore’s career matching services.