Neither the urgings of Singapore's top leaders nor exhausted personal savings have jolted the choosiest unemployed into taking jobs considered demeaning, opting to scrimp rather than lose face.
While the layoff axe keeps descending on professionals, managers, executives and technicians amid the city-state's prolonged recession, borrowing from relatives and pawning valuables are viewed as preferable to labor deemed menial and traditionally the domain of foreign workers.
"I don't want people and my children to look down on me," said a 45-year-old store manager who lost his position eight months ago.
In an indicator of the progress of a government programme targeted at helping those over 40 find jobs with training, a Ministry of Manpower survey revealed one in three hired quit within six months.
Employed as cleaners, waiters, room attendants and similar positions for 322 companies, the disgruntled cited their dislike of the duties, paltry salaries, shifts or weekend assignments.
The traineeship programme was launched last July as the slowdown gripped the city-state with the government paying firms who hire the laid off workers 50 percent of their gross salary for six months.
Prime Minister's plea goes unheard
Laments over the choosiness of the unemployed holding out for positions equivalent to their former ones have come from no less than Prime Minister Goh Chok-tong coupled with calls for "flexibility."
Adding to the layoffs from the worst recession since 1965 has been the loss of 42,464 jobs, many from the hard-pressed electronics sector, to other countries where land and labour costs are cheaper, the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) said.
Accumulating data from the unions of 18 companies that conducted large retrenchments over the last five years, the NTUC found China the top destination, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Lim Boon-heng, NTUC secretary-general, described as "crazy" those who refuse to do jobs usually carried out by foreign workers such as chambermaids in hotels.
"The longer a person is unemployed, the harder it will be for him to find a new job," he warned.
The government-influenced media in the city-state has spotlighted examples of men and women of varying ages who have managed to make switches and adapt in sectors where help is needed despite less salary and loss of prestige.
Among them is Simon Tan, who took shift work at a hotel for 20 percent less than he earned as an administrator last year.
"Life has to go on," he said, advising others to "face reality".
Official figures show there are 100,000 people currently without jobs, while 17,000 positions are going begging.
Maybe next year
Singapore is unlikely to see unemployment come down until next year providing an economic recovery is sustained, ministry officials said.
Overall unemployment rose from 5.2 percent last December to 5.3 percent in March. Since unemployment typically lags an upturn, joblessness is expected to go as high as 6 percent in the second half of the year.
Exhortations to retrain and accept new challenges have not motivated those holding out for their previous salary level or work long shunned even after months of attending career fairs, filling out applications and receiving reams of rejections.
Some young adults, infused with ambition after graduation from universities only a few years ago, said they found with each layoff their prospects drop and salary as well.
Living with her parents, a 25-year-old woman said she has decided to "wait it out" until conditions improve instead of accepting "a boring job" for so little money she can no longer afford the pricey restaurants and nightlife enjoyed by her friends.
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