The Pulse of the U.S. Job Market

The Pulse of the Job Market

presents

Results from the Job.com QuidgetTM Poll, September – December 2010

The Quidget® Company

Job.com “Pulse of the Job Market” QuidgetTM Poll, Sept.-Dec. 2010

Our goals were two-fold:• Track the “minds and moods” of job

seekers in the U.S.• Give job seekers an opportunity to

share and compare their views with others

More than 16,000 U.S. job seekers were surveyed online from September to December 2010

Commissioned by Job.com and powered by Netpop QuidgetTM technology, responses were collected over 79 days across hundreds of websites

Due to the non-scientific method used to sample respondents, findings are only representative of the individuals who elected to participate


48%

29%

23%

Unemployed and looking for work

(n=7812)

Unemployed but happy to be taking time off

(n=4660)

Employed but would like to make more money

(n=3725)

n=16197

Base: All respondents

Q: What’s your employment status?

Three groups of the U.S. job market were examined

1

2

3

Total Sample


54%

41%35%

46%

59%65%

Dire – no hope in sight

Better – the job market is bouncing back

Unemployed and looking for work

(n=7813)

Unemployed but happy to be taking time off

(n=4660)

Employed but would like to make more money

(n=3724)

Overall, job seekers are much less optimistic than other groups – 54 percent say the market is “dire, no hope in site”

Q: What’s your view of the job market?


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9/20 -9/26

9/27 -10/3

10/4 -10/10

10/11 -10/17

10/18 -10/24

10/25 -10/31

11/1 -11/7

11/8 -11/14

11/15 -11/21

11/22 -11/28

11/29 -12/5

12/6 -12/12

Dire – no hope in sight

Better – the job market is bouncing back

n varies by weekBase: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

Oct. 8, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment

rate remained unchanged in September at 9.6%

Dec. 3, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports

unemployment rate edged up to 9.8% in November

Rising optimism among job seekers in late September was derailed in early October and continued to decline into November

Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up modestly in

September (+64,00)

Nov. 5, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rate

remained unchanged in October at 9.6%



0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9/20 -9/26

9/27 -10/3

10/4 -10/10

10/11 -10/17

10/18 -10/24

10/25 -10/31

11/1 -11/7

11/8 -11/14

11/15 -11/21

11/22 -11/28

11/29 -12/5

12/6 -12/12

n varies by week for each groupBase: All respondents

Not surprisingly, the outlook declined more steeply among job seekers than other groups and remained lower into December


Percent Who Say Market is “Better – the Job Market is Bouncing Back”

Among those who are unemployed and

looking for work

Among those who are unemployed but happy to

be taking time off

Among those who are employed but would like to

make more money


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9/20 -9/26

9/27 -10/3

10/4 -10/10

10/11 -10/17

10/18 -10/24

10/25 -10/31

11/1 -11/7

11/8 -11/14

11/15 -11/21

11/22 -11/28

11/29 -12/5

12/6 -12/12

Interestingly, the decline was driven largely by those who consider networking the best place to go for leads


Percent Who Say Market is “Better – the Job Market is Bouncing Back”

n varies by week for each groupBase: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

Among those who consider networking the best Among those who consider

online job boards the best

Among those who consider job fairs the best

What does it mean? A “network effect” may have amplified negative news in the media on the job market, sharply depressing the outlook of those who rely more heavily on social networking for leads


26%

30%

44%

Job fairs

Online job boards

Networking through friends/family/biz contacts

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Q: Where’s the best place to go for job leads? (Select one)

n = 7812Base: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

Over 2 in 5 job seekers say networking through family, friends and business contacts is the best place to go for job leads

Three in 10 say online job boards are the

best place to go


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9/20 -9/26

9/27 -10/3

10/4 -10/10

10/11 -10/17

10/18 -10/24

10/25 -10/31

11/1 -11/7

11/8 -11/14

11/15 -11/21

11/22 -11/28

11/29 -12/5

12/6 -12/12

Online job boards

Networking through friends/family/biz contacts

Job fairs

Q: Where’s the best place to go for job leads? (Select one)

n varies by weekBase: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

Networking is consistently considered the best place to go for leads …

... although it appears to enhance anxiety among job seekers

(see earlier slide)


Q: How are you enjoying your time-off? (Select all that apply)

n = 4660Base: Those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off

32%

34%

39%

Going back to school

Traveling/Indulging in hobbies

Spending time with the family

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Those happy to be taking time off are spending more time with family, indulging in travel/hobbies, or going back to school


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

9/20 -9/26

9/27 -10/3

10/4 -10/10

10/11 -10/17

10/18 -10/24

10/25 -10/31

11/1 -11/7

11/8 -11/14

11/15 -11/21

11/22 -11/28

11/29 -12/5

12/6 -12/12

No plans as yet

3-6 months

1-2 years

Q: When will you begin your job search?

n varies by weekBase: Those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off

Those happy to be taking time off are delaying their return to work

20%

34%

46%

No plans as yet

3-6 months

1-2 years

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%


Q: What would most get you to consider a new job?

n = 3725Base: Employed but would like to make more money

21%

23%

24%

31%

Big raise/promotion

Better benefits

Opportunity to do what I love

Better quality of life

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

For those employed to consider a new job, “quality of life” is more important than a big raise or promotion

Summary of Findings

1Outlook on the U.S. job market took a pessimistic turn in the middle of October, likely spurred by reports that unemployment levels had remained high. Views of the job market began to rebound in the second week in November, rising gradually and leveling-out in early December.

2Overall, 54 percent of job seekers - those unemployed and looking for work - considered the economy "dire - with no hope in site." Their views are sharply lower than those who are unemployed by happy to be taking time off and those who are currently employed.

3There appears to be a correlation between social networking as a way of getting job leads and one's outlook on the job market. Indeed, the declines in October and early November were largely driven by those who prefer networking over job boards and job fairs for getting leads. It is possible* that a "network effect" heightened the anxiety felt by job seekers, as social media promulgated discouraging reports on the job market.

4Those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off appear to be quite content in their situation. With more time for family, travel and hobbies, most are delaying their return to the job market for up to another year or two.

*Further research is needed to validate this hypothesis


For more information: Kristen Reed – [email protected] Crandall – [email protected]

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The Pulse of the U.S. Job Market