Record starting pay for grads, but fewer full-time jobs

According to the annual Joint Graduate Employment Survey released on Monday, 93.3 per cent of SMU graduates were employed in full-time, part-time, temporary or freelance work within 6 months of their final exams. NUS and NTU numbers both stood at about 90 per cent. Among all three institutions, the proportion of graduates overall who secured full-time permanent employment fell from 79.9 per cent in 2016 to 78.4 per cent last year. More went to freelance work – 2.4 per cent compared to 1.7 per cent in 2016. The proportion of graduates in part-time or temporary jobs remained at about 8 per cent. SMU graduates were paid S$3,500, the same as the previous year, while NTU and NUS graduates earned median gross monthly salaries of $S3,487 and S$3,500 respectively.