Dive Brief:
- More than 70% of workers say they are very or moderately confident they could easily find a new job, according to the results of an Indeed survey of 804 workers released Jan. 12. About three-quarters of workers said they believe there are open jobs demanding their skills and experience, a clear contrast from the 91% of respondents who said so last year.
- Many respondents (37%) said the weak labor market boosts their confidence in their career prospects. Slightly fewer (29%) said it makes no impact, and 44% said it makes them less likely to take a career risk.
- Workers lost confidence in the ability to land a job that delivers their desired level work-life balance. Last year, 88% said they could find such a job; this year, 71% reported that belief.
Dive Insight:
While workers may be confident they could find a new job, many are staying put. In May, The Harris Poll and outsourcing firm Yoh released survey results that revealed 78% of employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older would not consider a job change during the pandemic. The respondents also reported they doubted they could find a job during the pandemic, marking a departure from Indeed's findings.
The pandemic itself may motivate some workers to leave their posts — a phenomenon The Harris Poll predicted and, in a December 2020 survey, SilkRoad Technology and OnePoll confirmed. More than two-thirds of Harris Poll respondents aged 44 and older said they would consider changing jobs if their employers slacked on worker safety. Two in five office workers told OnePoll that they planned to resign over how their employers handled the coronavirus.
Many searching for jobs aren't doing so voluntarily, however. And many affected by pandemic-driven job loss are facing unemployment for the first time, according to a recent report from outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas. The job hunt may be daunting, especially as many recently unemployed individuals report a struggle to articulate how their skills and experience could qualify them for a new job, results of a May 2020 LiveCareer survey revealed.
