Here's a sure sign that the job picture may brighten next year. According to a recent survey by job-placement firm Manpower, more than four out of five (84%) of American workers plan to look for a new job in 2011.
Let's face it, in this high unemployment economy, if you've got a job, you're more likely to embrace it rather than start looking for something new since so few companies are even hiring. Plus, what if your employer finds out you're looking? They could use that as an opportunity to show you to the door to make way for someone not so dissatisfied.
For the past few years and especially during the recession, the Labor Department's "quits rate," which serves as a barometer of workers' ability to change jobs, has been near an all-time low. Economists are predicting that companies will start hiring next year and some expect unemployment to drop to below 9% by the end of 2011.
Douglas Matthews is president and chief operating officer for Right Management, a division of Manpower. He says the survey should be a wake-up call to management. Matthews sees the survey results as more about employee dissatisfaction and discontent than projected turnover.
Veteran executive coach and career management advisor Paul Bernard says that after years of increased work and pay freezes, more people will looking because they're disappointed with their current jobs.
As the economy gradually recovers, large U.S. companies are planning on finally filling those thousands of job openings that have been vacant during the recession. Many of these new jobs are in retailing, accounting, consulting, health care, telecommunications and defense-related industries.
According to data collected for The Wall Street Journal by and the jobsite Indeed.com says the number of U.S. job postings on the Internet rose to 4.7 million on December 1, up from 2.7 million a year earlier. Those figures may not include all available jobs because some companies don't post all listings online.
Government data show a rising trend in openings. There were 3.2 million private-sector job openings at the end of October, up from 2.3 million a year earlier but well below the 3.7 million in October 2007, before the recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Among firms expanding their payrolls are accounting and consulting giants Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. As the economy revives, more companies are seeking their services. Deloitte's U.S. work force numbers about 50,100, up from 45,730 a year ago.
