Most welfare recipients who find jobs are back in the 'shameful' trap of receiving aid in less than a year, according to a survey to be released today. The study, commissioned by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and Oxfam Hong Kong, concludes it is difficult for recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to find long-term employment. It says officials are slow to come up with suitable ways to help the group, most of whom lack skills and education and need support to cover their household responsibilities. The survey of 177 unemployed and 88 single parents who came off welfare last year found that more than half had returned to the system when they were surveyed in March and April. And most of those who were still employed earned less than the average $10,000, with jobs paying by the hour or day. The proportion of men out of work was bigger than women, a phenomenon which researchers attributed to employers choosing to hire women, who 'would be more stable and willing to accept lower wage'. The council's senior project officer, Chua Hoi-wai, said the recipients were a vulnerable group who would be 'easily fired by employers and faced little prospect of getting employed again'. 'They are desperate to get out of the jobless trap. Many feel that staying in the system is shameful and prevents them from playing a good role-model for their children,' he said. Mr Chua said the study results would be passed to the Government, which he hoped would consider tailor-made services such as retraining programmes, job-matching and childcare arrangements.