Singapore residents least confident about job security in Southeast Asia

More than half of residents in Singapore surveyed said they are “less confident” about job security for themselves, their families, or other people they know personally, compared to three months earlier.

According to a survey done by market research firm Ipsos, 56% of Singapore residents expressed that sentiment, making Singapore the highest among the countries surveyed which included Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Residents of Indonesia are the most optimistic when it comes to economic recovery in the next six months, with 75% saying the economy will be “somewhat stronger” or “much stronger”.

The figure was 51% for Vietnam and 50% for the Philippines, and only 27% for Singapore.

When asked what should be the priority for the government in the next six months, 32% of Singapore residents said “protecting jobs”.

This is more than the other South-east Asian countries such as Malaysia (20%) or Indonesia (13%).

However, Singapore residents are the least worried about contracting COVID-19, with 73% of Singapore respondents saying they are either “very worried” or “somewhat worried” of contracting it.

This is considerably lower than the countries most worried such as the Philippines (95%), and Vietnam and Malaysia (both 93%).