Fresh grads urged to stay calm in job search; uptick in hiring seen

Fresh graduates should press on with their job search, even if the future appears uncertain, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng.

- Annabelle Liang

The employment rate for the 2025 university graduating cohort was 51.9 per cent in June, he said, which is 4 percentage points higher than the June 2024 rate.

"I would really appeal to graduates and parents to stay calm. We have taken a more granular and careful look at the data on jobs and graduate employment this year. While it is still early days... we do see some silver lining in the data," Dr Tan told a Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce press conference on July 10.

"If you compare June 2025 with June 2024, actually, the employment rates have gone up," he added, noting that many graduates may still be in the early phases of their job hunts.

"Rest assured, the Government, our tripartite partners, will continue to support you and walk every step with you."

Dr Tan also urged businesses to invest in young graduates who will be future leaders of the workforce.

He added that the number of entry-level vacancies in Singapore has remained steady.