Boom to gloom for fresh grads

Boom to gloom for fresh grads
Economic woes might leave youth more time for simpler joys in life
By Fiona Chan

FOR fresh graduates, 2008 was supposed to be a year full of promise.

Unemployment in Singapore had dipped to an all-time low last year and salaries were on the rise as the economy boomed.

There were small worrying signs that the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States was more insidious than it seemed, but economies around the world were still growing strongly in the first half of the year.

Then investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed in September, and everything fell apart.

Like falling dominoes, banks and companies worldwide found themselves reeling from the effects of the mortgage crisis, which turned into a credit crunch and then a recession that skirted the edges of depression. Forced to cut costs to survive, firms started freezing new hires, laying off workers and slashing wages.

Now, young people are finding themselves stuck with pay cuts and lower bonuses - that is, if they are lucky enough to be employed at all.

A friend who had worked at Lehman Brothers in New York for two years suddenly found himself out of a job in September. 'L is chill and relaxed,' his Facebook status read drily. 'No work tomorrow onwards.'

Another friend has been unable to find a job since he graduated from university in June, despite sending out dozens of applications and going for more than a few interviews.

A third friend planned to quit a career he hated this year and find something else more to his liking. But as job openings abruptly dried up, he resigned himself to staying on at the same job for at least another year.

In the past, a dearth of jobs prompted people to take a break and head back to school. But this time, paying for graduate school is becoming a less viable option as the world anticipates the worst recession in modern times next year, said The New York Times in a recent article.

Things on the economic front are not likely to improve for much of 2009.

The Singapore economy is officially predicted to grow between -1 per cent and 2 per cent next year, but many economists have even bleaker forecasts.

Still, as with every dark cloud, there is a silver lining.

The cost of living is expected to be lower next year, with inflation tipped at less than 1 per cent - from an alarming 6 per cent this year.

Food prices are easing and oil prices are plunging, making it cheaper to pump petrol, take public transport, buy air tickets and use electricity, among other things.

With shoppers staying at home and saving their money, retailers are also likely to start giving bigger discounts to draw customers back.

And as many sanguine commentators have noted, there is also a philosophical bright side to the downturn.

A recession, coming after years of excess, can be a time for reflection and re- evaluation.

Instead of working 60-hour weeks for a bigger pay packet that will not materialise next year, a good resolution for the New Year could be to simply spend more time with loved ones and be content with what we have.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

2008 is going out soon and 2009 will come, what do you think of the economy? Will it be better or worse?

What do you think?

-wong chee tat :)