The findings of a recent survey conducted by the Macau Jiangmen Youths Association show that Macau’s young adults are “moderately” stressed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey identified young adults as aged between 18 and 45.
A statement about the survey’s findings concerning the employment situation for young adults in Macau during the COVID-19 pandemic was released by the association during a press conference in Yau Wai Building in Patane yesterday
The president of the association, Ha Cheong Ieng, told the media that since the COVID-19 pandemic, members of his association have been interviewed young adults on the street about their employment situation. He noted that the survey interviewed 607 respondents, 49 percent male and 51 percent female.
Ha noted that 6 percent of the respondents are aged 18 to 24, adding that the association decided to have a small pool of participants in this age group because most of them are students. He also noted that 35 percent of the respondents are aged 31-35, 19 percent of whom are aged between 36 and 40, while 10 percent are aged 41 and 45.
Ho did not say when exactly the street survey was carried out, merely saying it had been conducted since the start of the pandemic.
The first COVID-19 case in Macau was confirmed on January 22.
Ha said that 60 percent of the respondents said that their companies had implemented “cost-cutting” measures, such as requesting employees to clear their holidays or take unpaid leave. He said that according to the survey results, the respondents’ average score was 2.7-2.9 out of 5 on the stress scale (5 being the most stressed and 1 being the least), showing that young local adults are “not extremely” stressed by the situation.
The statement released on the sidelines of the press conference said that local adults were “moderately” stressed by the pandemic.
Ha also said that according to the survey, those working in the manufacturing industry or as drivers felt the most stressed financially during the pandemic, scoring 3.3 out of 5 on the stress scale. However, Ha added that out of all the groups the self-employed or freelance workers felt the most stressed mentally, scoring 3.2 on the stress scale.
The standing vice-chairwoman of the association, Lo Choi In, said that 82 percent of the respondents said they found the government’s 15,000 patacas subsidy for employees the most helpful policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 61 percent said they regarded the government’s consumption subsidy smartcard scheme as the most helpful financial policy. The respondents could indicate two policies that they considered “most helpful”.
According to the statement, the association hopes that civil society will place more resources on training young local adults and provide them with more job opportunities to assist them in coping with the hardship caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Jiangmen is a city some 65 kilometres north-west of Macau in Guangdong province. The city of 4.5 million inhabitants is the ancestral home of tens of thousands of Macau residents.
This handout photo provided by the Macau Jiangmen Youths Association yesterday shows its president, Ha Cheong Ieng, address yesterday’s press conference about the findings of a survey concerning the employment situation of young local adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.
