SINGAPORE – About two in 10 workers in Singapore are overqualified for their jobs, but most of them opt for such roles willingly, according to a new study by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
The study, released on April 14, found that 19.4 per cent of resident workers hold qualifications higher than what their jobs require in 2025 – up from 16.3 per cent in 2015.
Of these overqualified workers, about nine in 10 – or 17.7 per cent of the resident workforce – made that choice voluntarily, driven by preferences for better work-life balance, more flexible hours, personal interests or better remuneration in sales-related roles.
Only a small group – 1.7 per cent of the resident workforce – wanted a better-matched job but could not find one.
This figure has remained stable at below 3 per cent for the past decade, according to the MOM study, which draws on labour force survey data and international benchmarking.
Another study by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design painted a similar picture.
In their survey with 1,100 residents in October 2025, 22.5 per cent of respondents said they are overqualified for their jobs.
Most of them – 85.5 per cent – were underemployed by choice, and they tend to have young or elderly dependents.
Overqualification is generally more common in high-income economies, where a larger share of the workforce are tertiary educated.
In Singapore, 64 per cent of resident workers had tertiary education in 2025, well above the average of 41.2 per cent across high-income countries.
Despite this, Singapore’s overqualification rate of 19.4 per cent remains lower than the high-income average of 21.6 per cent.
“This reflects Singapore’s continued creation of high-skilled jobs to support a more educated workforce, with the increase in overqualification remaining moderate and in line with international patterns,” said MOM and NTUC in a joint press release on April 14.
The data also suggests that the rise in overqualification rate is not due to a shortage of suitable jobs.
The share of roles requiring tertiary education (64.2 per cent) closely matches the proportion of tertiary-educated workers here. Tertiary graduates also continued to see salary growth, with the median monthly pay rising from $5,800 to $7,605 over the last decade.
“This suggests that the labour market has so far been able to absorb a growing pool of tertiary graduates, whose employment outcomes remain favourable,” said MOM.
The MOM study also noted that younger workers aged 34 and below made up higher shares of those in overqualified jobs. But they eventually move into better-matched jobs as they accumulate work experiences.
One way to address overqualification is encouraging skills-based, rather than qualifications-based hiring among employers, said MOM.
The ministry added that employers can also invest in upskilling their workers to reduce overqualification.
