Nine in 10 overqualified SG workers are in roles by choice: study

Key reasons include flexibility and work-life balance.

About nine in 10 overqualified workers were in such roles by choice, representing 17.7% of the resident workforce, according to Singapore's Ministry of Manpower.

These workers chose their roles for reasons such as flexibility, work-life balance, and transitional career decisions, rather than difficulty finding suitable jobs.

Meanwhile, 1.7% of the workforce was involuntarily overqualified. This proportion has remained below 3% over the past decade.

Singapore’s overall overqualification rate stood at 19.4%, below the 21.6% average across high-income economies.

The tertiary-educated workforce rose from 51.6% in 2015 to 64% in 2025, above the 41.2% average in comparable economies.

Separately, a National Trades Union Congress study revealed that the most common forms of underemployment were education-field job mismatch (31.4%), qualification-job mismatch (23.0%), skills-job mismatch (22.5%), and qualification-occupation mismatch (20.3%).

In 2025, academic qualifications were not the primary consideration for 79.6% of vacancies.  Employers prioritised relevant experience (48.2%) and skills and abilities (20.1%).

In addition, hiring challenges were more evident in specialised roles.

The share of professional, managerial, executive and technician vacancies unfilled for at least six months rose from 14.4% in 2024 to 16.0% in 2025, with difficulties reported in roles such as data scientists, teaching and training professionals and civil engineers.