Survey: Fear of redundancy at 10-year high

Almost half of public sector workers think their personal financial situation will worsen over the next 12 months, according to a survey by Ipsos MORI.

Four in ten full-time workers are concerned about the possibility of being made redundant in the next 12 months, the highest level over the 10 years which Ipsos MORI has been tracking consumer confidence.

Notable differences exist between private and public sector workers – 48% of full-time private sector workers fear redundancy, compared with 24% of public sector workers.

Despite being less concerned with the possibility of redundancy, public sector workers are more concerned about their personal financial situation, with 46% thinking it will worsen in the next 12 months, compared to 32% of their private sector equivalents.

“These latest figures indicate that for many of those working in this sector, cuts in public sector pay are seen as a likely outcome of the upcoming Budget,” according to Kieran O’Leary of Ipsos MORI.

“Furthermore, despite a slowdown in increases in the rate of unemployment, fears of redundancy remain a real concern for many private and public sector workers alike”.

The underlying outlook about the Irish economy remains pessimistic, with almost twothirds (64%) thinking it will get worse over the coming 12 months, and just over 1 in 10 (11%) thinking it will improve.