Despite high gas prices, rising inflation and climbing lending rates — and as The Great Resignation persists — the public’s perception around the U.S. job market remains positive and fewer employees are looking to make a career change compared to the last 12 months, according to a new survey by executive search firm JMJ Phillip.
In the face of a looming recession, employees are relatively confident in the current job market: about 56 per cent of survey respondents indicated they are not worried about losing their job in the next six months. In fact, the majority of respondents are looking to stay in their current positions, with 77 per cent noting they are not looking to change jobs in the next six to 12 months.
Despite more than 11 million open jobs, per the May U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, half of respondents also said they believe there will be plenty of jobs available over the next six months, compared to 30 per cent believing a recession is coming and there will be no jobs available, and 20 per cent believing there will simply be fewer jobs available.
“The U.S. is entering an unprecedented period,” said Dennis Theodorou, managing director of JMJ Phillip. “Inflation is the highest it has been in recent history. The public markets are falling. The crypto markets are declining. The Federal Reserve has raised rates. And there is a lot of uncertainty in the business environment, with the outlook over the next 6 to 12 months relatively shaky. Yet, despite all of these signs, confidence from employees largely remains strong.”
Though the majority of respondents noted optimism about the current job market, uncertainty is beginning to grow as layoffs are abound in the tech industry. Technology is typically the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to the health of the job market, as tech companies often need access to relatively inexpensive cash in order to fund ambitious growth plans and large headcounts.
In response to the recent rate increases, companies including Tesla, Coinbase, Redfin, Compass, BlockFi, Cazoo and Notarize have announced layoffs, and 52 per cent of respondents noted worry about the economy after reading about tech layoffs.
Interestingly, the supply chain sector, which isn’t experiencing layoffs and has many open positions available as a result of the global supply chain crisis, was not viewed as a favorable employment option from respondents.
In the past 12 months, companies like Walmart have raised wages for roles like truck drivers and warehouse workers in an attempt to smooth over supply-chain issues, but even with the wage increase for supply-chain roles and the much-publicized worker shortage, nearly 70 per cent of respondents indicated they are not interested in pursuing a role in the supply-chain field.
