Written Answer · 2026-08-05 · Parliament 15
Reduction of Entry-level Roles for Fresh Graduates and Young Jobseekers Attributable to AI Adoption
Dr Wan Rizal asked the Acting Minister for Manpower, in writing, how much of the decline in job vacancies between December 2025 and March 2026 reported in the Ministry's Labour Market Report First Quarter 2026 was attributable to a reduction in entry-level roles for fresh graduates and young jobseekers, and whether that decline was linked to the AI adoption trends described in the same report. Minister of State Jasmin Lau replied that total vacancies fell from 77,700 in December 2025 to 73,300 in March 2026, driven primarily by a drop in non-PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) openings. Entry-level PMET vacancies actually edged up from 32,500 to 32,800 over the same period, indicating the decline did not reflect a squeeze on roles for fresh graduates and young jobseekers. MOM's survey suggests AI's impact so far has been more on job redesign than on broad-based hiring cuts: among the three in ten firms that had adopted AI, only 6% reported reducing headcount and 8% reported lowering hiring activity, while 19% reported redesigning roles and 14% reported creating AI-related jobs. The Ministry will continue to support young jobseekers through initiatives that build industry-relevant skills, provide meaningful work experience and help them secure good jobs.
Why it matters
MOM answers the fear that AI is squeezing graduate jobs with Q1 2026 data: entry-level PMET vacancies edged up to 32,800, and only 6% of AI-adopting firms cut headcount.
Key Points
- • Total vacancies fell from 77,700 in December 2025 to 73,300 in March 2026, driven mainly by non-PMET openings
- • Entry-level PMET vacancies edged up from 32,500 to 32,800 over the same period, which MOM cites to reject the idea that graduate roles are shrinking
- • Among the roughly three in ten firms that adopted AI, only 6% cut headcount and 8% lowered hiring, while 19% redesigned roles and 14% created AI-related jobs
- • MOM's reading is that AI's impact so far is mainly job redesign rather than broad-based hiring cuts
- • MOM will keep supporting fresh graduates and young jobseekers through skills, work-experience and job-matching initiatives
The Government uses labour-market data to reject the claim that AI is squeezing entry-level graduate roles: the vacancy decline came from non-PMET jobs while entry-level PMET openings edged up, and AI's effect is characterised as "job redesign" rather than "hiring cuts"; MOM commits to keep supporting young jobseekers through skills, experience and job-matching initiatives.
The questioner, Dr Wan Rizal, was concerned that the vacancy decline in the official labour-market report might mask a loss of entry-level roles for fresh graduates and young jobseekers, and that this loss might be driven by the very AI adoption trends the same report documents.
MOM is, for the first time, using quarterly labour-market data to answer the "AI is eating entry-level jobs" narrative head-on, anchoring its policy frame on "job redesign" rather than "employment contraction". This signals that the Government will not introduce AI-specific job protections for graduates in the near term but will stay on its skills and job-matching course, while keeping the 6%–8% of AI-adopting firms that cut headcount or hiring as a watch indicator.
"Our survey suggests that the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) so far has been more on job redesign than on broad-based reductions in hiring."
Participants (2)
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-09-04
23 Dr Wan Rizal asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) how much of the decline in job vacancies from December 2025 to March 2026, based on the Ministry's Labour Market Report First Quarter 2026, is attributable to a reduction in entry-level roles for fresh graduates and young job seekers; and (b) whether this decline is linked to AI adoption trends as reported in the same document.
Ms Jasmin Lau : Total job vacancies fell from 77,700 in December 2025 to 73,300 in March 2026. The decline was driven primarily by a decrease in non-Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians (PMET) vacancies. Entry-level PMET job openings increased slightly from 32,500 in December 2025 to 32,800 in March 2026, indicating that the decline did not reflect a reduction in entry-level roles for fresh graduates and young job seekers.
Our survey suggests that the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) so far has been more on job redesign than on broad-based reductions in hiring. Among the three in 10 firms which had adopted AI, only 6% reported reducing headcount and 8% reported lowering hiring activity. By comparison, 19% reported redesigning roles and 14% reported creating AI-related jobs.
The Ministry of Manpower will continue to support fresh graduates and young job seekers through initiatives that help them build industry-relevant skills, gain meaningful work experience and secure good job opportunities.