Early data shows employment rates of fresh grads slightly higher in 2025: Tan See Leng asks graduates & parents to 'stay calm'

Amidst anxieties about employment prospects for fresh graduates in the current economic climate, early data suggests employment rates of fresh graduates in June 2025 are higher than June 2024, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng.

"Now, just to illustrate my point further, based on a very preliminary MOM study, employment rates as at June 2025, is 51.9 per cent. They are slightly higher than at June 2024 which was at 47.9 per cent, so there's a 4 per cent higher rate for the 2025 and 2024 graduating cohorts, respectively.

But the caveat, like I said, [is that] these are early days because you are only looking at a very small snapshot."

Tan emphasised that it is important to urge and calm "the apprehensions", he also appealed for graduates and parents to stay calm.

Tan also noted that based on Ministry of Manpower (MOM) preliminary statistics, there are more job vacancies than job seekers as of March 2025, many of which are in growth sectors.

"While I think there will be some uncertainty in it, I should emphasise that currently we're not in a crisis, nor are we in a recession," he said.

Tan, who is part of the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT), was speaking at a SERT press conference on Jul. 10, after U.S. President Donald Trump sent out a wave of letters to over 20 countries indicating their new reciprocal tariff rates.

Singapore continues to be subject to a baseline 10 per cent tariff.

New Business Adaptation Grant

On the government's efforts to support workers and employers in Singapore amidst the ongoing tariffs, Tan provided details of a new Business Adaptation Grant, to be launched in October.

The grant will provide co-funding for companies at a cap of S$100,000 per company.

It will cover companies under two categories, businesses who export to and or have operations in overseas markets, and businesses with local or overseas manufacturing operations.

Tan told reporters that small and medium enterprises will likely be able to receive a higher percentage of co-funding from the government than multinational firms.

More details will be provided when ready.

Employment rates went up for fresh grads in 2025

Tan also acknowledged that the government has heard concerns about fresh graduates who face anxieties starting their careers "in these turbulent times".

But even though these are "early days", the government sees a silver lining in the data, he added.

Tan said a preliminary MOM study found that employment rates of the 2025 graduating cohort were at 51.9 per cent as of June 2025, which is higher than the 47.9 per cent for the previous cohort at June 2024.

Tan also noted that vacancies for entry level jobs have remained steady, with currently about 2,400 immediate vacancies in the public sector, including roles such as engineers and software developers.

In response to a question from the media, Tan explained that many of such opportunities can be found in growth sectors such as in healthcare, sustainability, education, deep technology and the infocomm industry.

Graduates can learn more about these vacancies through a public service career fair in August, the Careers@Gov job portal, or social media.

As of March 2025, there were 1.64 vacancies per unemployed person, with vacancies likely to be filled by residents accounting for seven in 10 of the total vacancies, Tan added.

Support for job seekers

To support graduates in their job search, Tan said Workforce Singapore has introduced Polaris, a suite of personalised career guidance services, which jobseekers can tap on using their SkillsFuture credits.

The government and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will also expand access to career guidance services to help workers navigate the current economic uncertainty, Tan added.

Additionally, Tan said that the proportion of firms with an intention to hire or to raise wages in the next three months rose slightly in April and in May 2025, an increase from before tariffs were announced.

Tan also noted that the SERT would continue to monitor the adequacy of their support measures for businesses and workers.

"Our fundamentals remain strong. I'm confident in our ability to withstand any storms to come," he said.

Slower growth, but opportunities remain: Gan Kim Yong

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, who chairs the SERT, acknowledged on Jul. 10 that there are still significant uncertainties with regard to the U.S. tariffs, especially in terms of the impact on the global economy.

He said Singapore will likely see "slower economic growth over the next six to 12 months" as a result of the tariffs.

"Nevertheless, there will remain opportunities for our businesses and our workers," said Gan.

Gan noted that the new grant will help businesses adapt to the new reality and seize new opportunities for growth, and that the government in conjunction with tripartite partners will continue to provide support for the Singaporean workforce.

He concluded,

"But beyond the immediate challenges I mentioned, we are also keeping an eye on the longer-term horizon.

Even as [the] economic landscape evolves, it is important for us to plan ahead and take action to ensure that our economy will continue to grow and Singapore will continue to remain relevant to the rest of the world.

Ultimately, we have to ensure that our businesses and our workers will do well in future.

Our focus remains very clear, which is to protect livelihoods, to strengthen our resilience and to keep Singapore moving forward."

Top image by Mothership