CHICAGO: Around half the folks in the United States who were laid off in the last year found work of some kind, according to a survey from CareerBuilder. The job Web site company said 41 percent of those laid off found full-time jobs, while 8 percent scored at least part-time work.
CareerBuilder, owned by Tribune, Gannett, McClatchy and Microsoft, surveyed 807 people laid off roughly between February of 2008 and 2009. The survey itself was conducted Feb. 20 through March 11.
Brent Rasmussen called the results “encouraging” for the 3.3 million or so people who’ve lost jobs in recent months. Rasmussen is president of CareerBuilder North America. He said scoring a job would take longer than it did in boom times, but that opportunities exist in health care, government, education, sales and technology.
Rasmussen recommended devoting five hours or more each day to the job search, talking to recruiters, social networking and checking online listings. (TV Technology jobs are listed here.)
Some take-away from the survey:
Gender and Age
More men than women who were laid off in the last 12 months found full-time jobs. Fifty-nine percent of men went back to work compared to 49 percent of women. Workers 35 to 44 were the most likely to find full-time jobs after being laid off, at 68 percent. Workers 18 to 24 were the least likely, at 41 percent; followed by 46 percent of workers age 55 and older.
Severance and Long-term Savings
Among people laid off in the last 12 months, 32 percent received severance. Sixty-nine percent said it sustained them for two months or less; 25 percent, for one month or less. Forty-five percent had to tap into long-term savings.
Impact on Pay and Hours
Nearly half of the laid-off that scored new jobs accepted less pay, while 15 percent negotiated more money. Twenty percent took fewer hours; 12 percent took on more hours.
Relocating
Thirteen percent who found jobs relocated to a new city or state. Of those who are still looking, 39 percent said they would consider relocating.
Transferring Skills
Thirty-eight percent of the re-employed found work in a different field. Seventy percent said they really enjoyed the new opportunity. Of those still job hunting, 44 percent are looking for work outside of their profession, and 25 percent were cogitating starting a business.
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