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As we enter the last few months of 2011, a cloud continues to hang over the job market. In the latest Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey, there is a growing uncertainty among job seekers about their chances of landing a job and a decreasing number of employees feeling optimistic about their company’s outlook. These findings are just the tip of the iceberg in the third quarter report.
Not sure where the economy is headed and how your career path will look in the next 6 to 12 months? You’re not alone.
It’s no secret that the job market has remained tight over the past several months, and so it shouldn’t be too surprising to hear that employees are more pessimistic about their ability to get rehired within this the next six months should they lose their job. In addition, employee concerns about layoffs and pessimism about pay raises have risen to the highest levels since the height of the recession.
Today, Glassdoor released the latest Employment Confidence Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, and found layoff concerns were up five percentage points this quarter…
The economy has been a rough ride for just about everyone and so it may not be too surprising to hear that many are planning to head for ‘greener’ pastures in less than two years.
We just released the results of our latest Employment Confidence Survey and found 73 percent of employees expect to leave their job for a new employer in the future, 38 percent expect to leave their job in less than three years, 28 percent expect to do so in less than two years and 14 percent expect to do so in less than one year.
This may be driven by rising optimism around the job market. Among full-time, part-time and/or self-employed adults, 40 percent say they believe it is “likely” they could find a new job matched to their experience and compensation levels within six months if they lost their current job – the highest level in six quarters.
That optimism doesn’t necessarily carry through employee confidence in what’s happening within companies. While employee confidence in the job market rose in the first quarter, confidence in future job security, pay raises and company outlook remained relatively flat. And while reports of layoffs are down, 40 percent of employees say their employers made changes to the number of staff, organizational structure, compensation and benefits, or other perks in the past six months. In fact, rates of pay cuts, hiring freezes and job restructurings rose in Q1 from recent quarters.
It’s no wonder employees and job seekers are having a hard time getting a handle on the state of the job market and whether our economy is showing any improvements. In November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the unemployment rate creeped up from 9.6% to 9.8% which analysts expect will only drop down to 9.7% in December. In parallel, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence which had improved in November, decreased slightly in December.
To shed more light on what is influencing and impacting today’s workforce, Glassdoor has just released the results of its latest Employment Confidence Survey that reveals what those on the front lines, the employees and job seekers, are really seeing and feeling. Below are highlights showing where they are feeling optimistic, unsure and where they’re seeing changes at their company or in their job search.
Starting on a high note…
Despite the glimmer of hope from the National Bureau of Economic Research that the “recession ended”, it seems that employees are not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Glassdoor‘s quarterly Employment Confidence Survey was released today, and findings show that more Americans are concerned about the future of their jobs and hiring prospects than in the previous quarters
After five consecutive quarters of declines, employee layoff concerns rose this past quarter to levels not seen since 2009. One in five employees (20 percent) are concerned that they could be laid off in the next six months. Employees are even more worried for their colleagues: a third of employees are concerned their co-workers will lose their jobs in the next six months.
Earlier this morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly Employment Situation report, which reveals that the unemployment rate has edged down to 9.5%. Shortly before, Glassdoor released its Q2 Employment Confidence Survey of 2,418 U.S. adults, which offers more in-depth insight behind the BLS numbers by having a look at what employees and unemployed job seekers are thinking and expecting in the months ahead. This data reveals implications for employers relating to employee morale and retention.
Below are a few highlights…
The Glassdoor Q1 Employment Confidence Survey comes on the heels of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report which shows the unemployment rate holding at 9.7%. According to Bob Doll, vice chairman and chief equity strategist at BlackRock, “the backdrop for the March employment report numbers ‘remains reasonably good’.”
In alignment with the results of the latest BLS report, employees are revealing less concern about being laid off or their co-workers being laid off. Less than one in 5 (18%) employees are concerned they could be laid off in next six months, down from 26% in Q109. And in terms of concerns over co-workers being laid off, 32% expressed concern down from 44% in Q109.
n other good news, employees appear more optimistic about their chances to find a new job. Should they lose their job more employees (including those who are self employed) think it is likely (38%) they would be able to find a job matched to their experience and compensation levels in the next six months than unlikely (30%). This represents an increase in confidence compared to just three months ago when 38% if employees said it is unlikely they would find a new job matched to their experience and compensation levels and 33% said it was likely.
Will employee confidence continue to improve?
Employees have spoken once again, and our Q4 Employment Confidence Survey*, conducted by Harris Interactive, has found that only 20% are concerned they could be laid off in the next six months – a rate that has fallen for the fourth consecutive quarter. Only 13% of those employees who work for companies that haven’t had or communicated layoffs are concerned about being laid off compared to 37% who work for companies that have initiated or communicated layoffs.
The employment picture isn’t so rosy for co-workers, however. Nearly 40% are concerned their co-workers could get laid off in the next six months, a slight increase from Q3. And Baby Boomers are the least optimistic – almost half of those 45-54 (49%) are concerned about getting laid off.
Employees are optimistic when it comes to their company – 9 out of 10 believe their company’s outlook will stay the same or get better in the months ahead.
Survey says? Yes.
In our Q3 Employment Confidence Survey* conducted by Harris Interactive, employees report modest declines in layoffs and pay cuts at their companies than was reported last quarter – this has likely contributed to increased employee confidence and optimism relating to future downsizing, pay raises, bonuses, company outlook and ability to get re-hired.
While there’s still a long way to go to a market recovery, we decided to test the waters and ask employees what they would expect from their employers once the economy becomes more stable and we return to a more typical level of unemployment. The results were telling: in short, they expect a lot:
57% expect a raise, bonus and/or promotion
35% expect hiring freeze to be lifted and/or more employees to be hired in their department
24% expect health benefits and perks that were previously reduced to be restored
But, what’s most interesting is how many employees plan to fly the coop: one in five employees expect to look for a new job once economy rebounds. Among those 18 to 44 years of age, the rate is one in four (24%) while considerably less for those over 55 (12%). (Glassdoor.com’s ...
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