New research by Jobvite suggests uncertainty, unemployment, and financial challenges will drive profound changes in the employer-candidate relationship.
Unlike previous editions, the 2020 Job Seeker Nation Report draws from two survey sets: one in February 2020 consisting of 1,514 employed adults and job seekers in the U.S., and one in April 2020 after the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19, consisting of 1,515 job seekers.
The resulting comparative data revealed, unsurprisingly, that stress levels at work have increased significantly and that job market perceptions have changed rapidly. Forty-seven percent of workers are now afraid of losing a job at some point in 2020, compared to 28% who shared that concern in February.
In addition, nearly half of surveyed workers (46%) now plan to have a second source of income outside of their regular 9-to-5 jobs. And perhaps most worryingly, 19% of workers or members of their immediate families have gone without food for 24 hours due to a lack of money.
“Today’s recruiting environment has never been more challenging,” said Jeffrey K. Rohrs, CMO of Jobvite. “Some industries are hiring more than ever, while others are furloughing and laying off employees. As recruiters prepare to face more demanding hiring pressures, they must be armed with the right knowledge, solutions, and compassionate insights to provide a profoundly personal recruiting and hiring experience.”
Job market perception
- 73% of respondents believe finding a job this year is harder, compared to 48% who felt this way just two months ago
- 48% of women think it is now “much harder” to find a job, compared to 21% in February
Stress levels
- One-third (33%) of workers report a somewhat increased stress level at work while nearly one-quarter (22%) report a drastically increased stress level
- 62% of workers with children at home report that their stress levels have at least somewhat increased over the last 60 days
Company culture still drives competitive advantage
- 81% of workers think company culture is important in their decision to apply for a job
- 38% of respondents said they would preemptively reject potential employers due to publicly available reviews
Source: Jobvite
