Based on economic analysis from government officials, the recession ended in June 2009, but don’t tell that to folks with or without a full-time job right now. Worker and would-be worker sentiment is lousy.
Workers have seen benefits reduced, continued layoffs, and pay and benefit cuts, and are not feeling all that positive about their employers or their prospects for pay raises, according to a third-quarter report from Glassdoor.com, which surveyed 2,400 employees in the United States.
“It’s clear employees have yet to see the recovery trickle down for their own benefit, and continued layoffs, lost pay and benefits, and other types of cutbacks are furthering their uncertainty,” said Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor’s resident career expert, who headed human resources for PepsiCo. and Electronic Arts, in a statement. “While employment confidence edged up in the second quarter, we’ve now regressed despite reports the recession ended last year.”
Look at these statistics on why employees have less than positive feelings about their jobs, their companies and their job options right now:
- 45 percent reported organizational changes that decreased the number of people on staff;
- 56 percent reported pay cuts at the company;
- 28 percent reporting they had salaries reduced in the last six months;
- 20 percent are worried about layoffs for themselves;
- 30 percent are concerned that co-workers will be laid off;
- 38 percent do not think their company’s financial outlook will improve;
- 34 percent of unemployed do not think they will find commensurate work or pay; and
- 35 percent of currently employed workers do not think they would find equivalent work or pay if they lost their job
“Unemployed job seekers have also grown more pessimistic in the last quarter,” said Rueff. “Until employees and unemployed job seekers see steady positive changes related to the job market and their bank accounts, it’s unlikely we’ll see stability in employment confidence, which is a significant indicator of consumer confidence.”
Job openings in September rose by 15,600 for tech-related occupations based on monthly online job vacancy data compiled by the non-profit business organization The Conference Board. Tech job openings gained the most of any industry, according to that report.