By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Any sense of local job security continues to be falling as a recent survey shows that more than half of regular workers, who are generally guaranteed higher wages and more benefits compared to non-regular workers, feel shaky about their employment status.
Out of the 1,184 regular workers randomly polled by online recruiting companies JobKorea and Bizmon from April 12-26, 51.3 percent said they felt insecure about their jobs. Tuesday's survey shows that the level of uncertainty rose, as the latest figure marks a 6.1-percentage point jump from a same tally done of 1,556 people in a similar pool last January.
The age group that feels most unstable is men in their 40s, with 68.4 percent of the total saying there is increasing doubt in their daily grind.
Coming in next were women in their 30s, as 61.7 percent of the surveyed answered they feel vulnerable.
Men in their 30s, women in their 20s and men in their 20s, in order, are next on the ``feel insecure'' list.
``As competition grows fiercer and the idea of lifelong employment diminishes, workers tend to feel more shaky about their status,'' said a JobKorea official.
Experts say such sentiment can lead to lack of enthusiasm and rise in health problems caused by stress.
``Those who are chronically insecure about their jobs are twice as likely to report physical health that is less than very good or excellent,'' said Sarah Burgard, a sociologist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Among various job categories, 68.6 percent of those working in finance gave a thumbs-down on whether their employment seems promising.
Following next are professionals in the food and beverage industry (60.4 percent), IT (54.8 percent) and retail and services (56.2).
But on the other end of the scale, only 22.7 percent of those in the machinery, steel and auto industries, 37.3 percent in construction, and 48.7 percent in electrical and electronics gave a negative answer.
More than 60 percent of the surveyed said they dream of landing a public service job due to its lifetime security.