Four Ways Workers Have Found New Jobs

A new survey of unemployed America workers by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which landed in mid-December, is a reality check. I knew that the minute I saw the report’s title: The Shattered American Dream: Unemployed Workers Lose Ground, Hope, and Faith in their Futures.

The researchers at the Heldrich Center first interviewed a national
sample of 1,202 unemployed workers in August 2009, using the web-enabled
KnowledgePanel®conducted by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, CA. Just
over 900 were re-interviewed in March 2010, and 764 were re-interviewed
between November 5 and 28, 2010 for this report.

I admit to setting the report aside temporarily. I allowed myself to
get caught up in the holiday hoopla. I hopped in my car and drove
hundreds of miles to be with family, sing Christmas carols, do my part
for the economy in the retail madness of Suburban Square in Ardmore, Pa.
Even hit a Pittsburgh, Pa. bowling alley with my nieces and nephews–the
same one I used to go to as a kid. Amazing, it’s still rolling, and it
was packed. Wonder what that says about the economy? Good vibe there
that’s for sure.

And, as is my nature, I swung high on the optimistic hopes for the
new year. But I knew I had to take a look at it today. So here goes.
Among the main bad news findings of the survey:

• More than half of the unemployed (58%) are pessimistic about finding a job in the near future.


• By a margin of 61% to 35%, more feel they will be stuck in their
  current financial shape rather than making it back to where they were
  before the recession began.


• Over half (54%) say the recession has caused stress among family members.


• Three in five (61%) say the economic situation has had a major impact
  on their family; over half say the recession has caused them to make a
  major change in their lifestyle.

The unemployed “face a situation not of their own making and have
exhausted all ideas of what to do next to get work and take care of
their families. The climate is one of pessimism, tinged with
resignation,” Professor Carl Van Horn, Director of the Heldrich Center
and a co-author of the study says.

But there were some brighter findings:

• One-third of those originally looking for work in August 2009 had
  become employed by November 2010, either as full-time workers  (26%) or
  part-timers who do not want a fulltime job (8%).


• A chunky 43% of the reemployed found work in a few  months. About
  half  report that they actively sought employment for at least  seven
  months before they found new work.

For many, their new job is not ideal, but it’s acceptable for the
time being.  More than half  say that the position they have now will
allow them to get by financially while they continue to look for
something better.

They have taken a pay cut. For those who are employed full time, 53%
are making less now than they did in their most previous job before
becoming unemployed, with many (56%) reporting that they earn at least
one-fifth less in their current position than in their last job.
Two-thirds, however, say they did not have to take a reduction in fringe
benefits to find a new job.

Not surprisingly, for me at any rate, a large number of the reemployed (41%) have moved to a new field or career.

But even with less pay and the angst and insecurity of starting over
in a new field, the reemployed appear to be generally satisfied with
their overall jobs and their ability to keep them, according to the
report’s findings. Fifty-six percent report being at least somewhat
satisfied, and about half are not very or not at all concerned with the
security of their new position.

All good to learn. But for me, the big question is how did they find
work? What did they do aside from sending out resumes and hoping to get a
phone call for an interview?

Tucked into this rather depressing update on the job situation is a
small chart of ways people have found new jobs. It doesn’t provide much
detail, but it offers a glimmer. Drum roll, please.

1. They changed or transitioned their career into a new field: 41%


2. They took took a temporary part-time job that became a full-time job: 25%


3. They enrolled in classes or training courses to bolster and add skills to get a job: 20%


4. They moved to another city or town: 13%.

Although, I would loved to have more specifics, for me, this kind of
information is the gold lining in Rutger’s grim unemployment report.

Jan. 4
2011 - 9:42 am From Forbes By KERRY HANNON