In the three weeks Marcus Greely has been job searching, he’s submitted 39 job applications, had two initial phone calls with potential employers and several informal networking chats. So far, that’s it. The recently laid-off tech sector recruiter is focused on more networking, and even more job applications.
“I’m just throwing as many darts at the board as I can,” the 38-year-old Minneapolis, Minn. resident said. “I know I am going to have to apply for a ton of jobs before I find something.” Is he nervous after the layoff from his senior-level job, a first in his career? A little, he admits. Is he frustrated? Definitely not. Greely said he remains “cautiously optimistic.” “On average, it’s a good time to be a job seeker,” he said. The blowout jobs report Friday showed the economy added 517,000 jobs in January, nearly triple the forecasted 187,000 gain. Meanwhile, the amount of job openings in December reached a five-month high, according to data released Wednesday.
“‘I know I am going to have to apply for a ton of jobs before I find something.’”
— Marcus Greely, 38, a tech recruiter who is currently looking for work
Two recent surveys also paint a more sanguine view. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) said it’s a good time to find a quality job, up from 62% in November, according to Gallup. Almost half of consumers (48%) say jobs were “plentiful” in January, up two percentage points from December, according to the Conference Board’s latest read on consumer confidence. Slightly fewer people (11.3%) in January said jobs were hard to get, down from 11.9% in December. This optimism about the labor market might be read as a disconnect given that the Conference Board also noted that consumer confidence slipped in January as people worry about a possible recession. Not to mention the layoffs in the tech sector: 86,000 global technology-sector employees have already been laid off in the first few weeks of 2023. But the health of the job market is not a “one size fits all” proposition. Job hunters may have to take go on one or two extra interviews as employers take a “more measured” approach to hiring, said …