Of the workers who were laid off in the past year, 60 percent of those found new jobs, and 88 percent of these workers are in full-time positions, according to a survey by Harris Interactive.
Fifty-six percent of respondents who are still looking for jobs are nervous about returning to the workforce after a prolonged unemployment period. The cited reasons are because of the pressure to prove themselves at 50 percent; the fear of the unknown at 40 percent; and new, unfamiliar technologies at 21 percent.
For respondents who are exploring new fields, the fear of the unknown is particularly strong, with 54 percent of respondents who have found jobs say they are now in completely different fields. For example, respondents report transitioning from careers as a financial adviser to a grade school teacher and a marketing manager to an engineer.
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"We need to do a better job as a nation to help workers identify jobs that are in demand today and are projected to grow in the future," says Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. "We have a growing skills gap and the need to get millions of Americans back to work. As the economy recovers, we need to focus on retraining and 'reskilling' workers to help them move to new fields with a greater number of opportunities."
The survey also reveals that workers are changing residences. Thirty-six percent of respondents who have found jobs say they relocated to a new city or state, and for those who are still looking for jobs, 38 percent are considering relocation.
Regarding salary, 45 percent of respondents report receiving a pay cut in their new positions, down from 47 percent last year, while 27 percent found higher-paying jobs, a jump from 22 percent last year.
Entrepreneurship is also an option, the survey finds. Twenty-seven percent of respondents who are still unemployed say they are considering self employment.
The Harris Interactive survey, which was conducted May 19-June 8, interviewed more than 800 workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last year.
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