SAUSALITO, CA — (Marketwired) — 10/03/14 — More employees(1) (including those self-employed) may switch jobs and find new opportunities in the fourth quarter of 2014 and early 2015, as half (47 percent) of employees report optimism in the job market, jumping to its highest level since this survey question started in Q1 2009, according to the .(2) This key finding is just one part of this quarter–s survey, conducted online by Harris Poll, which evaluates four key indicators of employee confidence: job market optimism/re-hire probability, salary expectations, job security and business outlook.
Specifically, 47 percent of employees (including those self-employed) report confidence that they would be able to find a job matched to their experience and current compensation levels in the next six months, up three percentage points since last quarter, and an increase of 11 percentage points when compared to four years ago (Q3 2010). In fact, younger employees (18-34 years old) are significantly more optimistic (62 percent) in their ability to find a job, when compared to employees within other age groups: 35-44 years old (46 percent), 45-54 years old (39 percent), 55-64 years old (38 percent), 65 years old or older (23 percent).
Among those unemployed but looking for work, confidence edged up slightly to one in three (33 percent) believing it is likely they will find a job in the next six months. This rise in job market confidence among employees (including those self-employed) coincides with more employees (34 percent) reporting their company initiated large scale hiring over the past six months. This is an increase of three percentage points since last quarter, reaching its highest level in three years (since Q3 2011; among those surveyed who saw positive changes at their company).
As job market confidence grows among employees, so does their optimism to receive a pay raise. Forty-four percent of employees say they expect to receive a pay raise or cost-of-living increase in the next 12 months, up seven percentage points over last quarter, and matching the highest level of optimism (Q1 2014) in nearly six years, since this survey started (Q4 2008). As the national debate surrounding pay inequality continues, significantly more men (48 percent) than women (38 percent) say they expect a pay raise, as do those employees with a household income of $100,000 or more (50 percent) when compared to employees with a household income of less than $50,000 (36 percent).
“With employment confidence reaching a new high, we can now begin to shift our focus back to the dynamics of a healthy job market; pay increase demand and employees on the move filling new opportunities and vacating their current jobs, which in turn creates opportunity for others,” said , Glassdoor career and workplace expert. “The high confidence among younger workers should also put employers on notice, as their funnel of prospective talent may be brighter, while they may also be susceptible to quality up-and-coming talent jumping ship. Paying special attention to the changing needs of tomorrow–s workforce will require unique forms of employee retention, as these employees in particular expect their careers to be on track with the positive economic recovery.”
When it comes to fear of layoffs, only 15 percent of employees admit concern of being laid off in the next six months, in-line with sentiment over the past four quarters. This is also down nine percentage points from the height of the recession in Q1 2009, when one in four (26 percent) employees reported concern over layoffs. Plus, fewer employees (22 percent) say they–re concerned about co-workers being laid off, down two percentage points since last quarter. More men (18 percent) than women (12 percent) say they–re concerned about being laid off in the next six months.
As for how employees feel their company–s business will perform in the next six months, half (51 percent) of employees believe their company–s business outlook will stay the same, remaining relatively steady since last quarter. Two in five (39 percent) believe their company–s business will improve, while one in ten (nine percent) say it will get worse.
: For more details, including breakdowns of survey results by gender, income and age as well as quarter-by-quarter results, please see the full Q3 2014 : . To request the survey supplement, graphics and/or complete survey methodology, please contact pr [at] Glassdoor [dot] com.
(1) For the purposes of this study, “employees” were defined as U.S. adults 18+ employed full time and/or part time unless otherwise indicated.
(2) The Q3 2014 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor from September 8-10, 2014 among 2,022 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact
, founded in 2007, is the leading career community designed to help job seekers find jobs and address critical questions that come up during the search, application, interview and negotiation phases of employment. Glassdoor provides the most transparent look at company culture, work environment, salary and compensation and the interview process thanks to the millions of insights shared by employees, job candidates and employers. For employers, Glassdoor offers and employer branding solutions to help maximize talent acquisition strategies and optimize results. As of August 2014, Glassdoor welcomes more than 25 million members to its desktop and mobile platforms. Glassdoor is backed by Benchmark, Sutter Hill Ventures, Battery Ventures, DAG Ventures, Dragoneer Investment Group and Tiger Global. Glassdoor.com is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.
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