Financial support scheme can alleviate stress of job loss: Experts

Details such as payout structure, eligibility conditions will impact outcomes, they say

- Tay Hong Yi

Interim financial support under a new scheme will provide workers who lose their jobs some reprieve from cost pressures, buying them more time to seek out or train for better jobs, said experts and observers.

However, they raised concerns about the payout amount and duration of the Skills Future Jobseeker Support scheme, especially for middle-income workers who may still have to dip into their savings.

It also remains to be seen how well the scheme will deal with potential knock-on effects, pending further specifics of its design and implementation, they told The Straits Times.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong revealed the maximum duration and maximum payout of the scheme in his maiden National Day Rally speech on Aug 18, and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng will provide more details at an unspecified date.

The scheme will pay involuntarily unemployed workers, such as those who are retrenched or whose companies go bust, up to $6,000 over a maximum of six months.

Associate Professor Terence Ho of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the $6,000 maximum indicates that the Government aims to strike a balance between providing meaningful support and ensuring sufficient incentive for displaced workers to return to employment when they are ready.

He said the support will make a difference for lower-income households but added: "For middle-income households, it will help alleviate financial stress, but they will likely also need to rely on their savings or other sources of cash flow to tide them over." The quantum of support will need to be adjusted as wages and living costs rise over time, Prof Ho noted.