Is confidence or desperation driving “job leavers”?

Is this job market improving? Apparently so. Job seeker confidence appears to be on the rise as a large number of workers are on the move. There are some surprising numbers in the a recent article by John Zappe. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is an upward trend in employee dissatisfaction resulting in an increase of “job leavers.” In fact, 1.1 million last month alone.

Zappe reports that “job leavers” are at the highest level in a decade. Some are even choosing to leave current positions before securing new opportunities. Even top performers aren’t fully engaged and are wanting more. Zappe notes that this is due to lack of career advancement, a disconnect between rewards matching performance, and the lack of personal development and growth. While the “job leaver” market is not made up entirely of IT professionals, technologists do make up a portion.

At UDig, we have noticed similar trends as the local job market continues to loosen. Compensation, training and working with new technologies have all been key motivators in many moves we’ve seen recently. According to a BlessingWhite survey, 13% will be making a move within the next twelve months. Overall there is a large talent pool out there that is unhappy and ready to move regardless of the economic issues. Should make for an interesting 2012!

Matt Bixler, UDig Account Manager