SDS: Recruitment Agency
specialising in recruitment services for japanese speaking job seekers in Singapore

Current Salary Expectations For The Young In Singapore, China, Japan & UAE

In Singapore - Fresh Graduates seeking jobs can expect higher starting pays this year compared to 2009. A survey of 89 companies in Singapore done in July this year unfolded that the average starting pay offers have increased across the board amidst the current graduate hiring season.

The management of consulting firm Hay Group revealed that the highest average starting salaries goes to Legal jobs, where Degree holders got an average of $2,650 in monthly pay compared to $2,565 the year before. Master degree holders got $2,956, almost $100 more than the $2,844 last year. The second highest salaries for fresh starters went to graduates employed in fields of engineering, research and development (R&D) and information technology (IT) & telecommunications industries. Master's degree holders in these fields got just over $3,000 a month, an increase from $2,930-2,940 last year. Engineering and IT & telecommunications graduates with honours got $2,700 to $2,900, up from the low $2,700s last year.

As Singapore has been successfully reaching out globally as a logistics and research hub, the survey also informed that the Logistic and Supply chain sector are paying well. Logistics and supply chain degree holders are currently offered $2,510 a month - the same amount on average as those with finance and accounting degrees. Honours graduates in finance and accounting were paid $2,673, up from $2,589 last year.

In China - After a two-year downturn of international financial crisis, the starting salary of China's graduates is also starting to rebound. Survey data from China's human resources companies showed that the average starting salary of graduates in China have increase 16 per cent from a year earlier. In 2009, the average starting salary for Bachelor degree and Masters degree holders were 2000 yuan and 3000 yuan respectively. The current rate in year 2010 is 2300 yuan for a Bachelor graduate, and 3600 yuan for a Master degree holder. The top three China cities with the highest starting salaries for graduates are Shanghai at 3,500 yuan, Shenzhen at 3,200 yuan, and the Beijing Evening News reported that the average starting salary for graduates in Beijing now stands at 3,000 yuan.

In Japan - Unfortunately, the situation is not as rosy in Japan, where the Labor Ministry reported on 2nd Sep 2010 that 56 per cent of workers in Japan aged between 15 and 34 need to supplement their salaries to cover living expenses. The figure underscores how Japan's young workers have been among the hardest hit by falling wages and two decades of sluggish economic growth. About 94 percent of young workers aged between 15 and 24 earn less than 350,000 yen a month, the report said. That's less than the overall average wage of 367,815 yen recorded in July 2010. 47 per cent of young workers surveyed by the ministry highlighted that they wanted to change jobs in search of higher pay.

In UAE - More than half of the professionals in the UAE did not receive a pay rise this year - an indication, perhaps, that many companies remain focused on balancing their books after the economic downturn. According to research by employment website 'Bayt.com', only 45 per cent of its surveyed said they received a pay rise. For those fortunate enough to receive a pay rise in the UAE, many felt the rising cost of living negated any benefit from the increase. Respondents to the survey cited that living costs had risen by 22 per cent, while the average salary increase was just 6 per cent.

Alzeena Javed - a management consultant based in Dubai, highlighted that fresh graduates in Dubai are now willing to accept employment starting pay of Dh 6,000, which is much lower than the previous average starting salary for graduates in the past.