Prisca Tang
The Macau New Chinese Youth Association said in a statement yesterday that according to the findings of its recent survey 32.7 percent of local youths believe that Macau lacks promotion opportunities in terms of social status.
The statement was handed out during a press conference by the association about the findings.
According to the statement, the association conducted the survey in the street on May 15 and 16. The statement noted that all 863 respondents were locals aged between 18 and 34 with various levels of work experience.
The statement said that compared to the findings they collected in 2019, the percentage of local youths that felt that Macau lacks promotion chances in terms of social status increased 10 percent. The statement noted that that even though 59.4 percent of the respondents said their social status remained the same during the COVID-19 pandemic, its findings also showed that amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic those who did not get any promotion in the past five years were more likely to descend to a lower social status.
When asked what young people thought was the main reason why Macau lacks promotion opportunities, the findings show that 36.4 percent thought that the COVID-19 pandemic was the main reason, 32.3 percent thought it was because of market competition, 31.3 percent thought it was because Macau’s economy lacks diversity. The statement said that according to 2020’s data, 4,700 youths (aged between 16-34) were unemployed, which accounted for 45.6 percent of the jobless residents at that time.
However, despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, 37 percent of the youths said they were happy about their job situation, over 52.7 percent described it as “mediocre”, while 10 percent were unsatisfied with their employment.
On the one hand, the statement noted that 48.1 percent of the youths believed their level of education affects their social status, while 38.7 percent thought connections were more important and 37.8 percent thought that their job title was the measure of one’s social status. While on the other hand, 45.4 percent said more connections meant one could climb up the social status ladder, while 45 percent and 36.5 percent of the respondents thought more accumulated knowledge and a higher job title respectively meant that one has a higher social position.
The statement said that among the respondents, 39.9 percent believed that through hard work one could reach a higher social position, while 38.1 percent thought that sheer ability and 30.1 percent thought enough higher position job vacancies could lead to a higher social status.
According to the statement, combining all the findings the association came up with three suggestions: Firstly, the association urged the government to diversify Macau’s economy so that youths would have more space for development; secondly, the association suggested that the government provide more job opportunities for youths; and thirdly, optimise the Continuing Education Development Plan (CEDP) for youths to have more options and resources to strengthen their knowledge on specific subjects.
This handout photo from the Macau New Chinese Youth Association shows its representatives announcing details about its recently conducted survey yesterday.
