1 in 4 Singaporeans lost their jobs due to COVID-19

One in four Singaporeans have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest JobStreet survey.

The pandemic has brought Singapore’s economy to a standstill during the ‘circuit breaker’ period from April 7 to June 1. The impact on businesses has been detrimental as many resorted to laying off workers to help bolster the impact and cut cost.

Conducted with 5,285 respondents based in Singapore, the survey also showed that short term and low income workers are the ones hardest hit by the pandemic.

For those who had tenures of less than a year, 48% reported being permanently or temporarily displaced, while 57% of those whose income brackets were below S$2,500 per month also reported that their jobs were adversely affected.

The sectors which have the highest percentage of retrenched workers are those working in smaller organisations as well as those working in the advertising/PR/marketing, tourism, F&B, retail and hospitality industries.

Meanwhile, 55% of respondents who have been working from home said that they had to work longer hours while 44% found themselves working outside of their usual hours, such as in the evenings and on weekends.

Having said that, around one quarter of the employees said they do not mind working longer hours at home while 41% of them wish to stick to their usual working arrangements.

And as Singapore begins to reopen its economy, the survey revealed that almost a third of businesses that had reduced or frozen new hires were expecting a relatively quick recovery, with 5% already resuming hiring and a further 25% expecting to be hiring within the next three months.

Furthermore, three out of four employers have indicated that for candidates who had lost their jobs due to COVID-19, their retrenchment would not be a factor in their job-hiring decisions. Over a fifth of them said that they would very likely consider these candidates for their job vacancies.