TL;DR – Are you worried about job security too? Checking out Job Search and Training & Higher Advancement sites too?
Heard of Comscore? It’s a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises; media and advertising agencies; and publishers. So yea, they look at media consumption and help clients plan, transact and measure media across platforms.
They released some interesting findings through a blogpost recently: How COVID-19 has continued to impact Digital Media Consumption in APAC – March 2020.
The Comscore APAC Client Insights Team analysed the most recent data (March 2020) and shared updates on the shifting digital consumption trends in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.
Comscore’s four key observations on Singapore
1) COVID-19 drives news traffic
I think this one goes without saying and we all see it amongst our own network of friends and family members. Everyone seems to be consuming a lot more news these few months due to the COVID-19 situation. So we shouldn’t be surprised at all that Singapore’s online news consumption reached an all-time high in March 2020.
Comscore has reported double-digit growth across Local, Technology and Business/Finance News content month on month.
2) Working from home: new normal?
The Circuit breaker measures started on 7th April, but in March, some companies were already practising some forms of split-work arrangements and tele-commuting in an effort as part of their business continuity plan (BCP).
The importance of using technology to ensure a smooth flow of communication was further highlighted, with traffic to Technology sites increasing 10% in March 2020.
3. Career continuity at risk
The coronavirus scare started as early as January in Singapore, and it continued to gain momentum. By March, some people were already feeling the heat from an economy that was slowing down. Businesses were already experiencing slowdown in sales and some borders were already starting to be closed. In fact, the aviation and travel-related sectors were amongst the most directly impacted.
Job security became a concern across different sectors.
Because of this, Comscore’s findings showed a surge in visitors going to Job Search and Training and Higher Advancement sites to seek opportunities and self-improvement in the midst of these uncertain times.
4. Finding comfort at home
Since #stayhome to #savelives have been the battle cries, Singaporeans were spending more time at home and less time outside socialising. With this, Singaporeans were seeking new and different ways to keep themselves entertained and occupied at home in the month of March.
Comscore’s data showed increases in engagement across Entertainment and Lifestyle categories that reflected this behaviour. Entertainment and Games have increased by 12% and 17%, respectively, in March 2020 versus February 2020.
Interestingly, people were also looking at redecorating ideas for their homes during this period with Home/Architecture’s views growing by 205% in March 2020 versus February 2020.
How would April and May look like?
I think it’s not too hard to guess how April and May media consumption behaviour would look like, so let me try!
Covid-19 is likely to continue to drive news traffic for April and May
People are still eagerly lapping up all the news, wanting to find out how to deal with it better, what the Government is doing about it, when CB measures will be relaxed, etc etc etc.
I hope that this habit will persist amongst Singaporeans even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. We will should read more, and more diversely. The more exposed we are to different perspectives, the more global our outlook and hopefully, less navel-gazing and sweating the small stuff.
Working from home IS already the new normal
At least for April and May, since these fall within the CB period. According to the authorities, some 70% of us are already working from home. And as many as 80% of Singaporeans surveyed wish to continue working from home some of the time.
Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong has also said a few days ago that telecommuting will remain the default come 2nd June.
So we can expect more tech to be utilised as we adapt more and more to working from home.
We’re all more adaptable than we think. Already, we’re pretty used to Zoom meetings, right? And in fact, many businesses, especially the freelancers and self-employed people, are already digitalising the delivery of their products and services.
Even for the more traditional F&B operators like hawkers, many are also going online to promote their business and for coordinating logistics like pre-ordering for takeaways and offering delivery services.
It’s time for more digital disruption!
Jobs and Economy
I cannot stress enough the impact that this pandemic has and will continue to have on the economy. In fact, many analysts and economists are predicting one of the worst downturns, ever. Yes, job losses are likely to be worse than the Great Depression. So how can people not be worried?
The best that we all can do now is to stay relevant, and make sure that we have skills that the job market requires today and also tomorrow. The other way to do that?
Go for training.
If, unfortunately, you’ve already lost your job, fret not!
There’re still some sectors hiring, like logistics and pharmaceutical sectors. Or if you wish to take some time to consider what fields to go into, but have mouths to feed at home for the time being, you can also consider taking up some temporary assignments. Surely some money is better than no money and moping around at home, right?
Speak to a career coach from NTUC’s e2i, or join the NTUC Telegram Channels for job alerts. Or click on the link below to check out what help and support there are for jobseekers and the unemployed.
Bake, Singapore, bake!
As we continue to spend time at home, it is expected that we will be searching for Entertainment and Lifestyle contents. I’m willing to bet my last dollar that Singaporeans will be searching for baking-related contents.
I never knew there’re so many closet home bakers in Singapore. Just check out the queues outside Phoon Huat, OMG!
