Low Expectations for Job Market Continue October 22, 2009 Gallup finds just 10 percent believe it’s a good time to find a quality job
By Sarah Knapp
Americans continue to see the glass as half-empty when it comes to finding a quality job, a recent Gallup poll finds. Only 10 percent of respondents to the Gallup Poll Daily agree that now is a "good time" to find a good job. Though this is up 1 percent since August, it is down from 14 percent a year ago and less than a third of the 33 percent who expressed positive opinions as the recession was beginning in Jan. 2008. Positive outlooks have hovered between 9 to 11 percent since Feb. 2009.
Gallup's Job Creation Index has followed a similar pattern. Calculating the percent of employees saying their companies are "hiring" minus the percent of those who say their companies are "letting go," Gallup puts September’s Index at zero. While this is down from 16 percent in Sept. 2008, it marks the highest level it has been at since dipping into negative numbers in Dec. 2008.
But while jobs continue to be tough to find, some believe there remain quality opportunities.
"The jobs that are opening up now are valuable positions that would never have been approved unless there was a compelling need. They have been solidly examined and tested, workers who are applying should know that these are bona fide opportunities," said WorldatWork Managing Director Paul Rowson. "People ought to balance their pessimism with a degree of perspective and career flexibility."
The survey broke down September 2009 job creation by regions including the East (-1 percent), Midwest (1 percent), South (1 percent), and West (-2 percent). For the West and Midwest these numbers, though significantly lower than those of 2008, were improvements on recent month. The East and especially the South experienced decreases in job creation since August.
Rowson hypothesized that job market pressures in various regions may be relieved in the future by changes in workplace flexibility and telecommuting.
"Jobs are not as location-dependant anymore, companies are going to become much more flexible and look to where there is a source of available labor, for example in workforces who reside in the regions with less job creation, and tap into that source," said Rowson. "Pessimists need to be willing to change too."
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