SMU graduates achieve 91.4% employment rate amid cautious market

SINGAPORE, March 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Graduates from Singapore Management University continue to secure good employment outcomes despite a more cautious hiring climate, with more than nine in ten securing employment within six months of graduation, according to the latest Joint Autonomous University Graduate Employment Survey (JAUGES) 2025.

The results suggest sustained employer demand for graduates with industry exposure and applied skills, even as organisations become more cautious amid global economic uncertainty and accelerating automation.

Strong Employment Outcomes in a More Cautious Hiring Environment

SMU graduates remain in demand and continue to demonstrate resilience in a moderated hiring environment. The results were revealed in the annual JAUGES, jointly conducted by SMU and the other Autonomous Universities. Of SMU's 2,331 graduates in the Class of 2025, 1,710 responded to the survey, representing a 73.4% response rate.

Under the newly introduced secured employment rate indicator – which includes graduates who have accepted a job offer but have yet to commence work, as well as those starting their own ventures – SMU recorded a strong 91.4% secured employment rate, with an overall employment rate of 87.1% and a full-time permanent employment rate of 79.8%.

SMU graduates are also commanding good wages, with the average gross monthly salary rising to $5,116 from $5,057 the previous year, while the median gross salary of our graduates also increased to $4,747 from $4,600. See Annex A for more details.

Nearly Half Received Full-Time Offers Through Internships

A hallmark of SMU's distinctive education model is its mandatory internship programme. Of graduates in full-time permanent employment,

• 30.9% of full-time permanently employed graduates are working or have worked in the same company where they interned.
• 16.4% reported being offered positions by their host companies but chose not to take up the offer.

Taken together, this indicates that nearly half of SMU graduates were offered full-time permanent employment during or after their penultimate-year internship, a strong endorsement of employer confidence in SMU talent.

SMU's structured, mandatory internship framework contributes rigour and workplace relevance to students' applied learning and plays a decisive role in preparing them not just for their first job, but for sustained career success.

Strong Demand Across Professional Sectors

As with previous GES findings, industries such as Finance and Insurance, Legal, Accounting & Auditing, and Information & Communication remained top employment sectors, reflecting sustained employer demand that is aligned with SMU's disciplinary strengths. 61.4% of full-time permanently employed graduates received employment offers before graduation - a 1.3 percentage point increase compared to the 2024 cohort.

Career Services Remain Available to SMU Graduates

SMU's Dato' Kho Hui Meng Career Centre (DKHMCC) will continue to offer lifelong career support to all alumni of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with continued access to a 24/7 jobs portal, and personalised assistance by individual career coaches.

Preparing Graduates for a Rapidly Changing Economy

SMU Provost and Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professor of Inter-Religious Studies and Harmony, Professor Alan Chan, remarked: "While hiring conditions are becoming more cautious as organisations manage uncertainty and accelerate automation, this is precisely where SMU's learning model proves its strength. We are intensifying our efforts to equip our students with essential human-centred competencies, such as strong critical thinking and communication skills as well as a high degree of AI fluency, which are vital to flourishing in a rapidly changing work environment. We will further enhance experiential and interactive learning that is the hallmark of an SMU education."

SMU's high employment rates stem from its distinctive experiential learning model, which integrates academia with real-world application. SMU's mandatory internship programme along with the SMU-X programme and Work Study Electives connect students with industry leaders to tackle live business challenges, while community service and global exposure requirements ensure graduates develop adaptability, cross-cultural fluency, and a sense of social responsibility - attributes highly valued in today's evolving job market.

Professor Alan Chan added, "More internship and global education opportunities will be provided, with a sharpened focus on preparing students to be Asia-ready and future-ready. Our goal is to ensure SMU graduates remain resilient, adaptable, and highly competitive, not just for today's roles, but for the evolving careers of tomorrow."

As Singapore's economy evolves, the university is strengthening partnerships with industry to ensure graduates develop the applied skills, digital capabilities and adaptability required in an increasingly technology-driven labour market.