According to the latest Graduate’s Employment survey, private degree graduates in Singapore see unemployment rate hitting as high as 40%. 39.9% were unable to secure a full-time job within 6 months after completion of their final examination.
The unemployment rate is twice that of graduates from government universities, which saw a 20.1% unemployment rate. Median salaries of private degree graduates are also 23% lower at S$2,550 compared to S$3,325. However, the government university graduates saw similarly depressing results with a 50% jump in graduates turning to part-time work as there is no full-time job available.
State media CNA however published a propaganda piece saying that private degree graduates can take respite knowing that they are paid higher than diploma holders:
“However, it was higher than the median salaries of fresh polytechnic graduates, which was S$2,180.”
There were 3,520 respondents from across 40 private education institutions in the government survey. The figures are believed to be worse off as government surveys in the dictatorship are usually corrupted to paint a better picture in the name of “national cohesion”.
Unemployment rate of Singapore citizens is currently at an all-time high of 3.3%, but little has been done to address the problem as GDP figures remain positive on paper. In his recent Chinese New Year address, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong refused to acknowledge that the economy is in recession.
Despite the increasing unemployment rate of Singapore fresh grads, the Singapore government complained about job mismatch and “locals being picky”. The ruling party intends to import more foreigners to fulfil the Prime Minister’s 6.9 million population target by 2030.