SINGAPORE : More young graduates are staying unemployed.
According to the Manpower Ministry, about 9,000 degree holders
under 30 were not working this June.
This is about 20 percent more - compared to two years ago.
And while it could partly be due to the economic situation, more
young people are actually choosing not to work in the short
term.
Cherie Lee, 22, loves spending time pursuing her hobby.
She graduated with a Life Sciences degree five months ago but still
hasn't found work.
"The younger generation is more relaxed...we don't feel the hurry
to get the job straightaway, of course, it will be very nice to
have a job...but if I really cannot get one, it is not going to
affect me, it is not the end of everything," she said.
And why not? She is living with her parents who cook and clean for
her, and give her a $300 allowance each month.
Cherie said: "Usually I will wake up at 2 something...sometimes I
read, sometimes I watch TV, sometimes I draw at home, play games,
the usual."
Emily Tay, Cherie's mother, said: "Nowadays, parents really take
care of the children well so they feel like they have everything,
so they are not so worried about jobs, it is we parents that are
more stressed...I'm spoiling her in a way so if she is what she's
now I feel that I'm partly to be blamed."
Cherie said she had already done all she could.
She is doing some part-time work and is thinking of pursing a
Masters degree.
"I am sending out resumes, I am going for interviews so if I don't
get one it's not my fault so I don't think I should answer to them
just because they're my relatives," she said.
And Cherie is not alone.
The National University of Singapore said the number of graduates
who did not find jobs within six months after graduation has risen
to over 7 percent.
Unemployed graduates from the Nanyang Technological University has
also increased to 10.9 percent of the cohort.
Many blame the job market but is it just a simple matter of bad
prospects or are Singaporean youths these days becoming more choosy
about their jobs and their pay packets? Or is it just a sign of
changing times?
Associate Professor Ho Kong Chong, Sociology Department at NUS,
said: "The immediate pressure, economic pressure from parents to go
look for a job...is much less.
"For today, like I said, the opportunities are more diverse, more
plentiful so young people are more willing to experiment with
different opportunities not necessarily related to work."
Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure - some parents are going
to have to get used to supporting junior for longer. - CNA
Thought UER is 3.4%???
