By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent

MISS Tracy Lum graduated last September, just when Singapore slipped into a recession, which snuffed out her hopes of getting a job quickly.

Today, four months later, the interior design degree holder is still jobless.

She has sent out around 20 resumes, and is keeping her fingers crossed that she will get lucky soon.

'I hope to get a job, at the latest, by the middle of this year,' said the 24-year-old, who is living off her savings and getting some help from her parents.

The LaSalle College of the Arts graduate also does some part-time administrative work.

Singapore now has some 17,300 jobless young people under 30, according to the Manpower Ministry, making up 31 per cent of about 55,800 out-of-work Singaporeans.

Analysts predict these numbers will grow in the coming months, when more fresh graduates enter the labour market in the middle of the year.

With the number of job vacancies shrinking as companies freeze or cut down on hiring, many people are likely to draw a blank in their job searches.

Said economist Hoon Hian Teck from the Singapore Management University: 'The dismal economic outlook is more likely to be translated into a slower pace of hiring, so the impact of the economic slowdown will be more strongly felt by new entrants into the labour market.'

As it is, those under 30 are already finding it tough to land a job. At 4.1 per cent, the unemployment rate of this group is higher than the national average of 2.8 per cent.

In fact, it is the highest among all age groups: The jobless rate for those aged 30 to 39 is 2.4 per cent, and 2.6 per cent for those over 40.

The hardest hit in the under-30 group are those with below-secondary education, as they face a double whammy: They lack both skills and experience.

Analysts say that the young and jobless should lower their pay expectations and consider contract jobs.

Recruitment agency PeopleWorldwide Consulting's managing director David Leong noted that hiring workers on contract will be a growing trend, as companies do not want to add to their permanent head count.

'Job-seekers should not see this as an assault to their professionalism or that such interim job arrangements will not lead to any good,' he said. 'They should consider doing it if the job content fits their skills.'

But some young job-seekers here are still keeping their options open.

Miss Tania Ng, 21, who will graduate with a business degree from the Nanyang Technological University in June, said she is thinking of furthering her studies if she cannot find a job.

'The opportunity cost for studying in bad times is not very high,' she said.

But others are less sanguine.

Miss Serene Sim, 22, who is studying real estate management at the National University of Singapore (NUS), was prompted by the grim job market to start looking for work last month - six months before graduation.

She got two offers, and chose to start work with one company - a property developer - even before she graduates, while doing part-time modules in her final semester at NUS.

'Initially, I thought I would take my time and enjoy my final semester,' she said.

'But with the economy as it is, I decided I should just make sure I have a job first. It's not exactly what I wanted but at least it's in the right field.'

Although she was aiming for a marketing job, she was offered and accepted a position in operations doing administrative and clerical work.

She believes she was able to land a job so soon because she was not fussy. Although she was hoping for a higher starting pay, she took the $1,800 offer she got.

'I was hoping for $2,700 to $2,800 in the past, but I know that is unlikely now,' she said.

Additional reporting by Jeremy Au Yong

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jan 10, 2008.