Singaporean fresh grads' starting pay jumped 2%

They can pocket as high as S$2,688.

According to Hay Group’s Fresh Graduate Pay Survey 2013, despite recent turmoil in markets around the world, new graduates can expect to earn a higher starting base salary — two per cent more — than the 2012 graduate cohort.

According to the 130 organisations responding to Hay Group’s Fresh Graduate Pay Survey 2013 in May, the average starting monthly pay for degree holders across the three qualification categories — without Honors, with Honors (Second Lower) and with Honors (Second Upper) — is S$2,714, S$2,822 and S$2,876 respectively.

Last year’s average starting monthly pay was S$2,688 for Bachelor Degree (without Honors), S$2,776 for Bachelor Degree (Honors, Second Lower) and S$2,843 for Bachelor Degree (Honors, Second Upper).

Furthermore, the survey showed that one in six employers placed an average premium of S$185 per month for local university graduates compared to non local university graduates.

Conducted annually since 2009, this year’s Fresh Graduate Pay Survey revealed that jobs in Project Management ranked at the top, commanding the highest average starting salary of S$2,906 per month for degree holders (without honors), followed by jobs in Engineering (S$2,885 per month) and Research & Development (S$2,788 per month). See Tables 1-3.

For diploma holders, Engineering graduates commanded the highest average starting salary of S$1,926 per month, with Project Management graduates coming in second at S$1,900 per month and Information Technology graduates taking third place at S$1,882 per month.

The average starting pay for diploma holders is S$1,841 per month, a slight increase to last year’s $1,808 per month.

Mr Victor Chan, Regional General Manager (Singapore and ASEAN) for Productized Services, Hay Group said, “We continue to see specialist professional fields such as Engineering, Project Management and Information Technology commanding higher starting pay premiums versus the other fields in this year’s fresh graduate survey.

The increase in overall starting salaries for fresh graduates in these fields also indicates a healthy demand for young talented professionals in Singapore.”