Though job seekers kicked off the year with a boost of confidence in their ability to find and secure a job, the latest Talent Pulse report from Vaco shows a significant drop in Q2. The percentage of those who were extremely confident fell 8% since last quarter, from 43% to 35%. Meanwhile, 33% expressed no confidence, a jump of 6%.
April’s consumer survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals a similar trend. For the fourth month in a row, there was a decrease in the mean perceived probability of finding a new job after losing one, from 51.2% in March to 50.9% in April. This marks the lowest reading in three years.
Vaco also observed a decline in the percentage of those highly confident in their ability to advance their career, from 50% in Q1 to 45% in Q2. Nearly one in four (24% of) respondents had no confidence in their ability to further their career, up 4% from the previous quarter.
However, many respondents are holding on to hope about their financial circumstances — 44% said they were extremely confident about improving their financial condition via a raise or new job over the next six months, a slight change from Q1’s 45%.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank, employees are also confident about their job security. The mean perceived probability of losing a job over the next year inched down to 15.1%, and the mean probability of voluntarily leaving a job dropped to 19.4%.
