In millennial economy, money talks louder than job security: survey

WHILE salary remains the most important factor in attracting Singaporeans to a job, the importance of both job security and financial health of the organisation has fallen compared to five years ago, a survey on Friday showed.

The Randstad Employer Brand Research in Singapore showed that salary has been consistently ranked the number one most important factor since 2012. Each year, between 63 per cent to 71 per cent of respondents have voted salary as a top-five most important aspect. "Money talks," the survey said.

But the growth of millennials in the workforce may also have led to a decreasing focus over the five years on job security - with its score dropping from 61 per cent to 42 per cent. The same is shown for the financial health of the organisation, with the attractiveness dropping from 55 per cent to 39 per cent.

"The average tenure of millennials is typically around two years, which means they are essentially placing less importance on these factors."

Work-life balance has also risen significantly in terms of ranking, from 32 per cent to 57 per cent between 2012 and 2016. It now takes second spot.

Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce.