If you lost your job tomorrow, how long could you and your family last before you would be unable to cover basic living expenses such as rent or mortgage, food and transportation?
According to a telephone survey of employed workers conducted last month for SnagAJob.com, a Virginia-based Web site for hourly employees, the median time period is 120 days. The question did not raise factors such as unemployment benefits or severance packages, so it’s unclear whether the respondents factored that income into their responses.
Cathy McCarthy, senior vice president of marketing for SnagAJob, said salaried workers reported a median of 180 days before their households would be unable to meet basic expenses, while workers paid by the hour had only a 90-day cushion before their resources ran dry.
McCarthy said the survey found some regional differences. People polled in the Northeast and the West Coast reported they would only have a median financial reserve of 90 days, while people in the Southeast reported they could get by for 180 days, and people in the Midwest figured on 150 days. McCarthy said the discrepancies probably were caused by the higher cost of living in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
Of the people surveyed who already had jobs, 26 percent expected to be looking for new jobs this year, exactly the same percentage as last year. McCarthy said SnagAJob executives were surprised by that result. They assumed that with rising unemployment and bad economic news arriving with virtually every headline, there would be more “job nesting” — people hunkering down in the jobs they had until things got better.
“Given the bleak economic news, we are surprised to see that there hasn’t been a significant decrease in the number of employed Americans who expect to undertake a new job search, said SnagAJob CEO Shawn Boyer. “Intuitively, you might think that fewer workers would want to leave the security of a paycheck they’re already earning for the unknown of a job hunt and a new job.” Of those who do plan to look for jobs this year, 37 percent said they wanted to make more money, another 17 percent were motivated by a fear of layoffs and 11 percent said they were unhappy at their current job.
Among those workers who planned to stay put, the majority (65 percent) said they were happy with their current work.
Although national unemployment reached 7.2 percent last month, the highest rate in 16 years, McCarthy reported that SnagAJob has more job postings now than it did a year ago. She said the site is receiving more visitors per job opening, meaning there is more competition for available employment.
There is a high demand for inventory control positions and tax preparation. Companies still need to track their inventory, she said, and tax season comes around whether or not there’s a recession.
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