About one in four (27.2 per cent) fresh graduates from private education institutes were either unemployed and still looking for a job, or in involuntary part-time or temporary employment, six months after graduating last year, the latest graduate employment survey has shown.

This is the first time that the Committee for Private Education (CPE), which released its findings from the annual survey on Wednesday (April 10), has tracked involuntary part-time or temporary employment among private school graduates. This refers to those who tried but have failed to get a full-time permanent job offer so far

The CPE surveyed about 2,800 fresh graduates from 40 private education institutes who are either working or are actively looking and available for a job. Graduates from 27 of the schools completed full-time bachelor’s level external degree programmes from between May 2017 and April 2018.

Here are some figures from the survey:

• Overall employment rate: 80.7 per cent
• Full-time permanent employment rate: 48.2 per cent
• Proportion of freelancers: 5.7 per cent
• Part-time/temporary employment rate: 26.8 per cent
• Voluntary: 16.1 per cent (those who do not want to be employed full-time for a reason, such as preparing to begin further studies)
• Involuntary: 10.7 per cent
• Unemployment rate: 19.3 per cent
  • Unemployed but starting work soon: 2.8 per cent
  • Unemployed and still looking for a job: 16.5 per cent
• Median gross monthly salary (full-time permanent employment): S$2,650