Debt burden of young Singaporean adults increases during pandemic

16/08/2021 11:04

Personal debt among young adults in Singapore has been rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation could worsen once interest rates start to rise.

Debt burden of young Singaporean adults increases during pandemic ảnh 1

Illustrative image (Photo: StraitTimes)

Singapore (VNA) - Personal debt among young adults in Singapore has been rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation could worsen once interest rates start to rise.

Statistics of the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) show that the average personal loan and overdraft balances for people in the group age from 20 to 30 years old shot up 23 percent quarter-on-quarter to 49,689 SGD (36,600 USD) in the first quarter of this year, about 42 percent higher than the average of 34,941 SGD in the first quarter of last year.

For those under 30, the personal loan delinquency rate climbed 13.4 percent quarter-on-quarter in the period.

The situation could be blamed on rising unemployment rate and lower income due to decreased working time, as many people have accepted cuts in working hours instead of losing their jobs. The unemployment rate among under-30 people was 6.4 percent in March this year./.

VNA