March 18, 2024

In the past several years, concerns over poverty and inequality in Singapore have risen significantly. With rapid technological changes and disruptive innovations, economic insecurities for workers in traditional low-waged jobs and the gig economy have arisen.

‘In-Work Poverty and Challenges of Getting By Among the Young (Phase 2)’ continues the previous effort by Associate Professor Irene Y. H. Ng (NUS Social Work & NUS Social Service Research Centre (SSR)) and her research team to understand how government financial assistance programmes can be better designed to cater to the young working poor (YWP) in Singapore. In this project, funded by the Social Science Research Thematic Grant from 2023 to 2026, young working poor is defined as individuals aged between 21 and 40. This group was selected as they often do not qualify for government support schemes due to their young age.

The project explores the experiences of the YWP in Singapore through altogether four waves of surveys and interviews, to understand career trajectories and intra-generational mobility. It also reaches out to other stakeholders including employers and the tripartite partners of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC), the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) through focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews to understand their challenges and perspectives.

Four types of poverty–earnings poverty, work poverty, time poverty, and dynamic poverty–faced by YWP are explored. There is also a focus on young workers’ mental health and cognitive ability across gender and race, and how they use their social networks to navigate jobs, family, and advancement.

The insights gathered through this project will inform policymakers and service agencies on how to improve the reach and design of formal programmes for younger low-wage workers. Additionally, the project also provides information on how to leverage on YWP’s social networks as a resource for self-help.