Singapore named one of the most unaffordable cities for fresh graduates
New hires are struggling to stay near the CBD.
Many fresh graduates aspire to live near their places of work. Districts around traditional CBDs have developed as edgy places to live, but their popularity comes with a hefty price tag.
A report by Knight Frank revealed that Singapore is one of the most unaffordable cities for fresh graduates. The report ranked twenty global cities in terms of affordability for young graduates, with Frankfurt clinching the first spot and Hong Kong languishing in last place.
Frankfurt is closely followed by Berlin as the most affordable city. Beijing is the most affordable global Asian city at rank 11, followed by Tokyo at rank 14.
Singapore is just four places from the bottom at rank 16. The report noted that fresh grads in the country retain around 10% of their net salary at the end of each month, compared to new hires in Frankfurt who get to keep around 60% of their net salary each month.
Hong Kong graduates have the least disposable income--in fact, they be as much as 4.6% in the red each month.
New graduates with insufficient incomes may end up turning to their parents for support or taking on debt to survive.