| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE: A check with three Community Development Councils (CDCs) has shown that there have been fewer social assistance applications in the third quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter. The CDCs also saw a decline in the number of job seekers during the same period.
62-year-old Pang Oi Lee was looking forward to a rosy retirement. But with an outstanding home loan and an unemployed husband, she turned to the North East CDC for help.
She said: "Within three days, she recommended my husband to work in a Thai restaurant. And this particular consultant again worked very hard to get me another job within the next week."
With her qualifications, she managed to get the job of support executive at the CDC. The couple were among the 470 applicants who sought help from the CDC in September.
During that month, the number of job seekers increased slightly by 1.5 per cent, which the CDC said signifies fewer retrenchments and a slow recovering economy.
Brennan Lee Wai Chung, general manager of North East CDC, said: "Feedback from the grassroots organisations and the welfare committees also shows a gradual decrease in the number of residents approaching them for help."
In April, the number of job seekers registered with the CDC had peaked to 870, reflecting the increase in retrenchments during that period. In February, there were 609 applications for social assistance.
At North East CDC, the number of those seeking social assistance went down by 10 per cent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter.
South West CDC also saw a similar decrease in the number of social assistance applications during the period. At the South East CDC, there was a 25 per cent dip.
The number of job applications at two of the CDCs has gone down by between 20 and 28 per cent.
Meanwhile, South East CDC saw a 14 per cent dip in job seekers in the last six months compared to the same period last year.
- CNA/ir
|
