New survey commissioned by professional networking site LinkedIn revealed that people in India and Indonesia are more confident about their career prospects than workers in any other major economy in Asia Pacific.
The LinkedIn Opportunity Index, which surveyed 11,000 people across the region’s nine leading countries, the two emerging nations ranked ahead of Australia, China, and Singapore in terms of their perceived employment opportunities. Indonesian workers are found to be most optimistic about their scope to advance in their careers, develop new skills and build their finances. Similar sense of optimism is also prevalent in the other Southeast Asian island nations including India, followed by mainland China, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, in the more developed markets such as Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan, respondents tend to be less hopeful about their career prospects. Among the reason of this sentiment was owing to the concerns over their countries’ current economic outlooks, CNBC reports.
The findings are broadly reflective of each nation’s growth projections. According to the IMF, India is forecast to achieve gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.3 percent this year, while Singapore is on course for a 2.9 percent expansion and Japan for a 1.1 percent boost. The main exception was Indonesia. With only a projected growth of 5.1 percent, the country is on track for weaker growth than both China and the Philippines, but its workers are the most optimistic in the region.
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The study also asked respondents about their potential barriers to success. While 9 in 10 respondents believed that working hard is the key to getting ahead in life, they also noted several career challenges. Financial restraints emerged as the most prominent concern, and was cited by 30 percent of respondents. Other roadblocks included a lack of access to a professional network (22 percent), a difficult jobs market (19 percent), poor professional skills (18 percent) and limited direction and guidance (18 percent).
Those concerns were especially restricting for would-be entrepreneurs. Almost half (48 percent) said that financial factors were holding them back from starting their own business, while more than a quarter (28 percent) felt they lacked the necessary contacts to become an entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, respondents from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines cited a preference for work-life balance, which could also be reflective of their career drive.
LinkedIn’s managing director for Asia Pacific, Olivier Legrand, said the report’s findings provide an important barometer for the state of one of the fastest-growing work forces in the world.
“The growing workforce in the region is a key asset that, if harnessed effectively, is going to continue to drive the economies,” said Legrand.
“Over time, by tracking people’s perception of opportunity and the barriers they face, we hope we can continue to facilitate more of a balance between demand and supply in the opportunity marketplace.”
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