More Singapore Millennials pessimistic over job prospects in 2016

About 13% think they might lose their jobs.

Young Singapore workers have grown pessimistic about their job prospects in the first quarter of 2016, according to a report by Randstad Singapore.

Last year, over 7 in 10 (76%) Millennials aged 18 and 24 felt they could lock down a new job in six months. This has dropped to 6 in 10 (66%) in 1Q16. In contrast, the confidence levels of respondents in other age groups remained fairly stable QoQ, with no marked differences in terms of job sentiment.

Workers in the 18 to 24 year age group were also more worried about job security. The number of respondents who felt they had a robust chance of losing their job almost doubled, from 7% in 2015 to 13% in 1Q16.

Alongside this, focus on career advancement through promotions inched up to 57% in 1Q16 from 54% in 2015.

Overall, employees last year had a relatively high confidence level in the job market as over 6 in 10 (67%) respondents felt they could bag a new job in six months. This too has dipped, inching back to 62% since the start of 2016—while not a dramatic drop, it reflects a more wary mindset in general.

Moreover, general satisfaction saw a marginal increase as over 6 in 10 (63%) employees say they are happy with their current roles, compared to 60% in 2015. The report asserts this is likely due to the growing cautious sentiment amongst local workers.

The report also revealed that 7 in 10 workers were willing to move overseas for the right job. This was higher than the global average of 55%, and could possibly be driven by the growing uncertainty in the local job market.