About 70 percent of respondents in a poll identified themselves as members of the “young poor,” local chapters of the Rotaract Club (扶輪社) and human resources Web site 360d said.
Chung Yun-che (鍾昀哲), a member of the R.I.D. 3520 Rotaract Club, which released the poll results on Wednesday, said the numbers suggested that 70 percent of people could not cover their living expenses, much less afford buying a home, on their current income.
The survey found that 58.4 percent of respondents reported an annual income of NT$300,000 or less, while 23.9 percent reported earning between NT$310,000 and NT$500,000 per year and 14.4 percent reported income of between NT$510,000 to NT$800,000.
The remainder earned more than NT$810,000 each year.
Although 65.8 percent of respondents said they would like to improve their financial situation, only 16 percent have concrete plans to do so, Chung said.
More than 12.5 percent of young people said they have sought part-time jobs to supplement their earnings, while 9.5 percent said they have cut down expenses and put more away for savings.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they think it would take five years of work to escape poverty, while 24 percent said they would need at least 10 years.
The survey showed that of the young people who identify with the term “directionless,” 80 percent hope for government help and social guidance to increase their professional skills and confidence.
More than 75 percent of respondents in the survey were aged between 21 and 40. The poll was conducted between Dec. 25 last year and Thursday last week.
A total of 4,895 valid responses were collected and the survey had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.
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