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Benefits April 20, 2004
Challenger: Q104 Job Search Times Accelerating
April 20, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A 22% drop in job
search times for the highest paid managers and executives in
the first quarter may indicate more robust hiring in the
coming months for workers at lower levels of the corporate
ladder.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
An increased willingness to relocate may be one factor behind the drop in job search times for these individuals, which fell from 4.9 months among the executives surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2003 to 3.8 months among in the latest poll by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Nearly one in every three (29%) job seekers earning more than $100,000 with their former employer moved to a different city for a new position in the first quarter. That was 22% higher than the fourth quarter of 2003 (23.7%) and 35% higher than the first quarter of last year when 21.5% of managers and executives earning more than $100,000 moved hearth and home for new positions. By contrast, only 13% of managers and executives earning below $100,000 relocated for new jobs in the first quarter of 2004.
“Without a doubt, the odds of finding a job faster are significantly enhanced by casting as wide a net as possible, which means expanding the job search beyond the limited geographic borders of one’s home town,” said chief executive John Challenger.
The Challenger survey found that over 94% of the relo-friendly $100,000 job seekers were able to win equivalent or better salaries in their new jobs vs. 84% of the job seekers who earned less than $100,000 and were more reluctant to change cities.