58 per cent of job losers in the us find work again: Survey

Amid tough job market in the US, job seekers are seeing some glimpses of hope, with a survey showing nearly six in ten workers laid off last year have landed in new jobs.

According to a report by online employment firm CareerBuilder, about 58 per cent of those laid off in the last 12 months have secured new jobs.

“Despite one of the most competitive job markets in decades, nine in ten workers say they have not given up on their job searches, and the amount of workers who have found work is clear that their drive and determination are paying off,” CareerBuilder (North America) President Brent Rasmussen said, releasing the survey results here today.

The survey was conducted among over 1,000 workers who were laid off within the past 12 months. About 51 per cent of respondents said they found full-time work since being laid off, which is a 3 per cent increase from June 2009 and 7 per cent of employees said they have found part-time work.

Further, the report said over half of those who secured new jobs found work in a different field than where they were previously employed.

“The number of laid-off workers who have found new full-time and part-time jobs rose in the last six months. Although this good news reflects a healing economy, it also shows that job seekers are exploring career options in new industries and locations,” Rasmussen added.

About 61 per cent of workers said they found jobs with comparable or even higher wages than the job they were laid off from, the CareerBuilder report added.

Laid-off workers used every technique possible to secure new positions. The survey revealed that 22 per cent of them found their new roles through referrals, while another 22 per cent said they got new jobs using online job boards.

In addition, employees also got jobs through newspapers and other print classifieds and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.