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Job-loss fears trump COVID-19 fears: survey
“Having a job is a matter of survival. It is understandable that people would rather get sick than go hungry,” the Center of Reform on Economics (Core) economist Muhammad Faisal said on Tuesday.
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Two prospective job seekers see job openings during the job fair at the Mega Career Expo in Balai Kartini, Jakarta, in this file photo dated Aug. 23, 2013. (JP/Nurhayati)
I
ndonesians are more worried about losing their jobs than contracting COVID-19 in a finding that highlights the importance of social safety nets in containing the viral outbreak.
The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey conducted by public relations firm Edelman, revealed that 89 percent of respondents said they were concerned about job losses, which is higher than the 75 percent of people who were worried about contracting COVID-19.
Edelman surveyed around 1,150 Indonesian adults between October and November last year. The respondents comprised 200 middle-upper income citizens with post-college education and 950 others described as from the “mass population.”
“Having a job is a matter of survival. It is understandable that people would rather get sick than go hungry,” the Center of Reform on Economics (Core) economist Muhammad Faisal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He went on to say that, while job instability affected all social classes, lower-income citizens faced greater risks due to their usually limited career options and tendency to work in the informal sector.
Edelman’s survey shows that Indonesians are generally willing to move around to work even at the risk of spreading COVID-19, behaviour facilitated by the government’s ongoing but looser micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM).
Read also: Gap persists between new COVID-19 policy and reality in Jakarta neighborhoods
