SINGAPOREANS are preparing for the worst, with one in three expecting to lose his job during this downturn.
A poll by TNS and Gallup International found that workers' confidence has been dented by the global financial crisis.
Almost eight in 10 Singaporeans believe unemployment will rise this year as the country's economy declines, with gross domestic product expected to be between minus 2 per cent and 1 per cent.
The global poll was conducted between October and December last year, with 45,700 people in 46 countries interviewed.
In Singapore, where 1,000 people were polled, expectations seem bleaker.
Almost two in three Singaporeans say this year will be worse for them than last year, compared with a global average of 35 per cent who feel the same way.
Commenting on the results, Mr Wage Garland, managing director of TNS in Singapore and Hong Kong, said such pessimism follows the bad news and views expressed by leaders and business organisations which are carried in the media.
'Media reports of these types of forecasts, the financial difficulties of several major local retailers, falling property prices and the layoffs already taking place in some companies have made people realise that the global economic turmoil is having an impact on Singapore,' he said.
But what is surprising, he added, is that it has yet to undermine confidence in their own future. Despite the gloomy forecast, seven in 10 working Singaporeans are confident of keeping their jobs, even though most believe more people will be jobless.
But should they lose their jobs, almost eight in 10 Singaporeans fear it would take a long time to find a new one. Compared with people elsewhere, Singaporeans are more pessimistic, with the global figure standing at 54 per cent.
- The Straits Times
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