In–Work Poverty and the Challenges of Getting By among the Young

New vulnerabilities are being created by the new disrupted economy. This project seeks to gain new insights on the kinds of “in-work” poverty (i.e experiencing poverty while being employed) that the working class are experiencing. It will focus on the challenges faced by less educated young workers (aged between 21 and 40) and their efforts at advancement, an area that has received less attention.  

Using traditional and technology-based mixed methods, the project will gain deep and wide understanding of the lived realities of younger low-waged workers through surveys, interviews, ethnographic studies, and data inputs using a mobile application.  

Through these, we hope to understand the interactions of work and earnings with young workers’ mental health and cognitive ability, and how they use their social networks to navigate jobs, family and advancement.  

The insights gained from this project seeks to inform Singapore on improving the reach of formal programmes to younger low-wage workers, the design of programmes to better meet their needs, and the optimisation of their social networks as a resource to help themselves.