Hongkongers fear for their jobs as Covid-19 pandemic sucks the life out of the economy: Standard Chartered survey
- Hong Kong’s youth and self-employed feel less confident, says Standard Chartered’s regional head of retail banking
- Threat of redundancy is much higher in Hong Kong than in mainland China or Taiwan
Hongkongers were the most pessimistic about their prospects compared to those in Taiwan and mainland China, anticipating major changes to their employment over the next three to six months, including reduced pay and working hours, an online survey of 1,000 adults in each of the three markets last month found.
“One key trend is that younger people are a little less confident post-Covid, with 41 per cent of them in Hong Kong expecting redundancy,” said Samir Subberwal, regional head of retail banking for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered, in an interview with the Post.
Overall, some 35 per cent of Hong Kong respondents feared being made redundant, compared to 24 per cent in China and 23 per cent in Taiwan. About 40 per cent of Hongkongers also expected reduced working hours, compared to 33 per cent in China and 38 per cent in Taiwan.
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It was no different either when it came to pay cuts, with 37 per cent of those surveyed in Hong Kong expecting a smaller pay cheque, compared to 33 per cent in China and 31 per cent in Taiwan.
“The self-employed are also feeling a little less confident [financially] than those with salaries. 48 per cent of the self-employed [in Hong Kong] thought they would probably have to increase their borrowing,” said Subberwal.
