Underemployed graduates most commonly found in health and social services, financial sector: Survey
SINGAPORE — The health and social services sectors had the highest share of underemployed graduates, followed by financial services, transport and education, based on a survey on underemployment in the Republic.
The survey by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute was carried out from August to November last year.
It found that almost a fifth of the underemployed graduates involved in the study worked in health and social services (18 per cent), while 12 per cent were in financial services and 7 per cent were employed in the transport and education sectors each.
The majority of these companies were serving mainly the domestic market (64 per cent).
In all, the study found that about 70 — or 4.31 per cent — of the 1,626 Singapore workers polled were “severely underemployed” — defined as degree-holders who held full-time jobs but were paid under S$2,000 a month.
The median age of the underemployed graduates surveyed was 35 years old, with 10 to 15 years of working experience.
Women made up almost two-thirds (63 per cent), and nearly half were married (46 per cent). The majority (61 per cent) did not have children.
In terms of housing types, almost half (46 per cent) lived in four- or five-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, according to the survey.
Underemployment occurs when highly skilled people work in low-paying or low-skilled jobs, as well as when workers willing to put in more hours involuntarily work part-time.
Internationally, underemployment is hard to define due to the subjectivity involved – such as a worker’s preference and whether qualifications equate to skills and performance.
In October 1998, following an international conference among labour statisticians, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development decided to adopt “time-related underemployment” as the universal indicator for objective comparison across countries.
The survey found that the challenges faced by underemployed graduates in Singapore include the lack of skills recognition at the workplace, income insecurity and inadequate retirement savings.
Nearly half of those underemployed (46 per cent) reported that employers do not recognise their skills, though three-quarters said their firms recognised their educational qualifications.
Almost six in 10 (56 per cent) said they were worried about inadequate savings for retirement, though this was just a shade higher than the 54 per cent recorded as the “norm” — comprising all other survey participants.
The survey also found that 60 per cent of underemployed individuals said they lacked finances for daily expenses.
Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of underemployed individuals said they did not have — or were neutral about — income security, compared with the norm of 31 per cent. Only about four in 10 (38 per cent) felt they had job security, compared with the norm of 65 per cent.
Despite their predicaments, the survey found that the underemployed graduates polled — who reported more health difficulties than the norm and tended to have no children — were open to re-skilling and new experiences.
Nearly nine in 10 (86 per cent) expressed a desire to learn new skills, which was close to the norm of 90 per cent. Almost eight in 10 (78 per cent) wanted to upskill to snag a promotion, while 84 per cent cited a desire to re-skill.
An overwhelming majority (92 per cent) also expressed an openness to new experiences, much higher than the norm of 57 per cent.
“This empirical finding contrasts (with) the traditional hypothesis that (the) underemployed have a negative attitude that impedes job mobility,” said the study’s authors.
