SINGAPORE: The median gross monthly salary of 2019 graduates who have found full-time work has gone up, according a joint graduate employment survey published on Friday (Feb 28).
The survey polled 11,400 fresh graduates from full-time programmes at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
The graduates were surveyed on their employment status as at Nov 1, 2019, about six months after they completed their final examinations.
HIGHER MEDIAN STARTING SALARY
The median gross monthly salary among fresh graduates in full-time permanent employment was S$3,600 in 2019, slightly higher than S$3,500 in 2018.
Information and Digital Technologies graduates commanded the highest median starting salaries at S$4,400.
The survey found that 90.7 per cent of the graduates found jobs within six months of completing their final examinations, higher than the 90.2 per cent in 2018.
The percentage of those with full-time permanent employment also increased to 81.7 per cent, from 81.2 per cent in 2018.
The percentage of those doing freelance work increased slightly by 0.2 per cent to 2 per cent, while the percentage of those in part-time or temporary employment fell slightly by 0.2 per cent to 7 per cent in 2019.
Employment Indicators of fresh graduates from full-time programmes. (Image: Joint Graduate Employment Survey 2019)
Information and Digital Technologies, Business and Health Sciences graduates have the highest full-time permanent employment rates.
Median gross monthly salaries have increased across all course clusters in 2019.
Employment Indicators of fresh graduates by course clusters. (Image: Joint Graduate Employment Survey 2019)
A follow-up survey also polled 800 graduates from NTU, NUS and SMU. The survey is conducted for courses that typically require post-graduate practical training before the graduates can practise in their professions.
These graduates were from the Architecture Class of 2016, as well as the Biomedical Sciences & Chinese Medicine, Law, Medicine, and Pharmacy courses.
After their training, 98.6 per cent were employed, compared to 96.9 per cent in 2018.
Those who secured full-time permanent employment increased to 96.4 per cent, compared to 93.9 per cent in 2018. Another 0.6 per cent were freelancing, higher than the 0.4 per cent in 2018.
The percentage in part-time or temporary employment was 1.6 per cent in 2019, lower than 2.6 per cent in 2018.
The median gross monthly salary among those in full-time permanent employment increased to S$4,800, up from S$4,500 in 2018.
The surveys for the Singapore Institute of Technology and the Singapore University of Technology and Design are ongoing, and their results will be released later.
