Human Resources: Half of Workers Who Were Laid Off in the Last Three Months Have Found New Jobs

CHICAGO, August 5, 2009 Laid off workers continue to be resilient, even as
the economy is slow to improve. According to a new survey by CareerBuilder
completed in June, 48 percent of workers who were laid off from full-time
jobs in the last three months have found new full-time positions; up from 41
percent in March. An additional three percent found part-time positions;
down from 8 percent in the previous survey. The CareerBuilder survey was
conducted among 921 workers who were laid off from full-time jobs within the
last 12 months.

³Despite a challenging job market, workers have been able to find employment
opportunities in a variety of fields,² said Brent Rasmussen, President of
CareerBuilder North America. ³Even though the number of workers who took
part-time positions is tracking below last quarter, the number who found
full-time jobs is notably higher. This is a positive indication that more
workers who were laid off from full-time jobs were able to replace them with
new full-time positions instead of taking part-time work as an interim
measure to generate income. Part of this job search success is related to
workers expanding career options to new industries and locations.²

Changes in Pay
Looking at workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new
jobs, more than half (56 percent) reported they were able to negotiate
comparable or higher pay for their new positions. Forty-four percent of
workers took a pay cut, down from 49 percent in March.

Transferring Skills to Other Industries and Fields
Workers reported they are applying their skills to new areas. Similar to
the last survey, 38 percent of workers who were laid off in the last 12
months and landed new jobs said they found work in a different field than
where they were previously employed. Of those workers, the majority said
they really enjoy their new positions.

Relocation
Workers are no longer just looking for positions in their own backyards.
One-in-five workers (20 percent) who were laid off in the last 12 months and
found jobs relocated to a new city or state; up from 13 percent in March.
Of those who are still looking for employment, 44 percent reported they
would consider relocating for a job opportunity; up from 39 percent in
March.

Starting a Business
An increased number of job seekers have adopted an ³if you can¹t find a job,
create one² way of thinking. Nearly three-in-ten workers (29 percent) who
have not found jobs are considering starting their own business; up from 25
percent in March.

Altering Appearance
The competition for a smaller number of jobs is driving some workers to
alter their everyday appearances in hopes of making a stronger impression.
More than a quarter (28 percent) of workers who were laid off in the last 12
months said they have changed their appearance to make themselves more
attractive to potential employers. Fourteen percent said they have lost
weight, 8 percent have changed their hair color or hairstyle and 5 percent
are dressing to appear younger. Teeth whitening, enhanced makeup and
cosmetic procedures were also cited.

Comparing genders, both men and women indicated making changes to their
appearances in hopes of appealing to potential employers, at 26 percent and
30 percent, respectively.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on
behalf of CareerBuilder among 921 U.S. workers who were laid off from
full-time jobs in the last 12 months ages 18 and over between May 22 and
June 10, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based
on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of
921, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results
have a sampling error of +/- 3.23 percentage points. Sampling error for data
from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping
companies target and attract their most important asset their people. Its
online career site, CareerBuilder.com, is the largest in the U.S. with more
than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 31 million resumes.
CareerBuilder works with the world¹s top employers, providing resources for
everything from employment branding and data analysis to talent acquisition.
More than 9,000 Web sites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals
such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder¹s proprietary job search
technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI),
Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S.,
Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.