Singapore (AsiaNews) – Fears regarding progressive jobs losses and staff cutbacks, driven by the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), have been confirmed by a recent study in Singapore. The findings indicate that entry-level jobs requiring less specialisation are the most affected.
In the city-state, while starting salaries for recent graduates and first-time job seekers continue to rise gradually, the number of people employed in lower-level roles is falling, creating challenges for those at the start of their careers.
Data published last month by the global professional services firm Aon show a 2.5 per cent year-on-year wage increase for entry-level employees, compared to a 3.2 per cent drop in entry-level jobs.
The study’s findings come at a time when graduate employment is also down.
A joint survey conducted by Singapore’s six autonomous universities and published last March found that 83.4 per cent of recent graduates seeking work had found employment within six months of their final exams.
This figure represents a drop from the 87.1 per cent recorded in 2024 and aligns with a downward trend that has been ongoing since 2022, a trend that shows no signs of stopping.
Aon’s findings also highlight a shift in employer expectations regarding new hires, precisely because AI is playing an increasingly important role in the market and impacting professions in different ways.
“AI is changing the first rung of the career ladder but it does not remove the need to build future talent,” said Rahul Chawla, partner and head of talent solutions for Southeast Asia at Aon.
“Companies,” he explained, “should redesign graduate roles around problem solving, judgment, human skills and the ability to work effectively with AI, rather than reduce entry opportunities and risk creating a capability gap in the future.”
Yesterday, Aon also released its annual survey on salary increases and turnover, revealing that salaries in Singapore rose by a total of 4.1 per cent in 2026, down from 4.3 per cent in 2025, marking the lowest growth rate among Southeast Asian countries.
By contrast, Vietnam recorded the highest salary increases at 6.6 per cent for 2026, although this is still down from the 7.7 per cent in 2025.
The 2026 study covers the period from July to September, analysing salary increase budgets and staff turnover rates across more than 1,200 companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In Singapore, the retail and hospitality sectors saw the highest salary growth at 4.5 per cent, while the life sciences and medical devices sector recorded a 4.3 per cent increase, and the technology sector saw a rise of 4.2 per cent.
According to the study's turnover data, the financial services sector recorded an involuntary turnover rate of 8.1 per cent, followed by the technology sector at 5.7 per cent, and the consulting, business, and community services sector at 4.9 per cent.
Several banks, including DBS and Standard Chartered, had previously announced job cuts driven by advancements in ai.
Regarding the most in-demand skills, 49 per cent of organisations cited leadership and people management, followed by data and analytics and AI and automation, which tied for second place, with 48 per cent of companies selecting these options.
“The organisations gaining a competitive edge are investing in continuous and targeted upskilling now, before a skills gap becomes a hiring crisis,” said Evon Lock, director of talent solutions in Southeast Asia at Aon.
What is more, “They are building capabilities and infrastructure internally so employees can grow into the new roles AI is creating.”
In a recent report, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower stated that the number of laid-off workers reached 4,620 in the second quarter of 2026, the highest figure since the fourth quarter of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This represents an increase from the 3,830 layoffs in the first quarter.
Conversely, the number of job vacancies fell to 68,600 in June, down from 73,300 in March.
According to the government report, this reflects a decline in job openings for professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) in sectors such as financial services and information and communications.
However, vacancies for entry-level PMET roles remained “broadly stable and sizeable,” accounting for 45.3 per cent of all job openings in June.
Despite the overall decline, job vacancies in June still outnumbered unemployed individuals, with a ratio of 1.48 vacancies for every unemployed person.
Finally, the government has introduced measures to help recent graduates gain work experience and transition into full-time employment.
The Graduate Industry Traineeships program, launched last year, offers industry-specific training and work experience to graduates struggling to secure their first job.
By the end of June, more than 550 of the programme’s 800 available spots had been filled, and the government extended the initiative to the 2026 graduating cohort. Nearly half of those who completed the traineeship have found employment.
