Singapore’s starting salaries may be on the rise, but the number of entry-level roles is shrinking, reported global professional services firm Aon in its latest 2026 Salary Increase and Turnover Study.

The report, released on Sept 23, surveyed over 1,200 organisations in more than 20 industries across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It showed a 2.5% year-on-year salary increase for entry-level employees, alongside a 3.2% drop in entry-level headcount from 2025, indicating an increasingly tough job market for those just entering the workforce.

The report is in line with a broader softening in Singapore’s graduate job market.

A joint survey by the country’s six autonomous universities released earlier in Mar found that 83.4% of recent graduates who sought jobs were employed within six months of their final exams. This was down from 87.1% in 2024, continuing a downward trend since 2022.

Aon’s findings also point to a shift in employer expectations for new workforce entrants. This comes as artificial intelligence (AI) takes on an increasingly prominent role in the workplace.

“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 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.”

Singapore salaries showed slowest growth in SEA

The broader salary picture was more muted in Singapore.

Overall, wages in the city-state grew by 4.1% in 2026, down from 4.3% in 2025, marking the slowest growth among its Southeast Asian peers. Meanwhile, Vietnam saw the highest salary increase at 6.6%, followed by Indonesia’s 5.4%.

In Singapore, Retail & Hospitality saw the highest salary increase at 4.5%, followed by Life Sciences & Medical Devices at 4.3%, and Technology at 4.2%.

Regarding attrition, Singapore’s financial services sector saw the highest involuntary turnover rate at 8.1%. Technology saw the second highest at 5.7%, and then came Consulting, Business & Community Services at 4.9%.

Amid advancements in AI, several banks, including DBS and Standard Chartered, had earlier announced job cuts.

For Aon’s study, organisations were also asked which skills were most in demand. Leadership and people management skills were most in demand, chosen by 49% of organisations, followed jointly by data and analytical skills, as well as AI and automation skills, at 48% each.

“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.

“They are building capabilities and infrastructure internally so employees can grow into the new roles AI is creating.”

More layoffs and fewer jobs

Image Credit: Shadow_of_light/ depositphotos

Aon’s findings come amid a broader slowdown in Singapore’s labour market.

On Sept 21, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported that retrenchments rose to 4,620 in Q2 2026, up from 3,830 in the first quarter. This was the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Job vacancies, meanwhile, fell to 68,600 in Jun from 73,300 in Mar.

The ministry said this mainly reflected fewer vacancies for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in sectors such as financial services and information and communications. Entry-level PMET vacancies, however, remained “broadly stable and sizeable,” making up 45.3% of all job openings in June.

Despite the overall decline, vacancies still outnumbered unemployed people, at 1.48 per unemployed person as of Jun.

The Government has also introduced measures to help fresh graduates gain work experience and move into full-time employment.

Nearly half of the graduates who completed the Government’s Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) programme by end-Jul 2026 went on to secure employment, MOM said in Sept.

More than 590 of the programme’s 800 places had been filled as of end Jun and the scheme will be extended to the 2026 graduating cohort.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s current affairs here.

Featured Image Credit: Muhamad Iqbal Akbar/ Unsplash