NEW YORK, May 30, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The New York Times Job
Market Confidence Index rose to 96.2 in May from 95.8 in April.
The Confidence Index measures the perceptions of employers and job
seekers of the job market in the greater New York metropolitan area.
May's Current Conditions measure of the Index, which looks at
respondents' perceptions of the current state of the job market, rose
to 117.7 in May from 107.5 in April. The Expectations measure of the
Index, which considers respondents' expectations concerning the future
of the job market in six months, dropped slightly to 91.4 in May from
93.5 in April. For these results, February 2002 served as the base
month, with values equal to 100.0.
"Confidence in the present job market continues to improve," said
Carl Haacke, economist for the Job Market Confidence Index. "However,
views of the future job market remain uncertain until they see more
sustained growth."
Key findings for May include:
- The percentage of employers who say that jobs in the New York
area are plentiful rose to 19 percent in May from 17 percent
in April. This is the third consecutive monthly increase from
the low of 15 percent in March 2003.
- Employees report that their workload is increasing, with 42
percent saying in May that their workload was very high, up
from 37 percent in April. Employees see this trend continuing
in the future, with 46 percent saying in May that they expect
their workload to be very high in six months compared to 43
percent in April.
- The percentage of employees who say that it would be very easy
for them to find another job with approximately the same
salary and fringe benefits rose to 20 percent in May from 15
percent in April.
- Fears of future layoffs grew slightly with 13 percent of
employers saying in May that they expect to layoff employees
in the next six months compared to nine percent saying this in
April.
- The percentage of employers who say that they expect to hire
for newly created positions in six months dropped to 23
percent in May from 30 percent in April.
- The percentage of employers who say they expect to increase
the total amount of salaries and bonuses paid out by their
organization in six months dropped to 29 percent in May from
35 percent in April.
For the May results, 501 hiring managers and 324 job seekers were
interviewed. Interviews are independently conducted by Beta Research
Corporation via telephone with random samples of job seekers and
hiring managers in the New York metropolitan area. The survey results
for each month include responses obtained over the previous two-month
period.
About Job Market
Job Market, the print and online recruitment services offering of
The New York Times, provides employers and job seekers with
comprehensive resources to streamline the recruitment process. Job
Market appears in The New York Times every Sunday and is updated
throughout the week at www.nytimes.com, where job seekers can find job
listings, career-related Times articles, exhaustive company research,
a resume database and valuable career resources.
Through the newspaper's national audience, which includes 4.2
million weekday readers and 5.0 million Sunday readers as well as the
1.5 million readers who visit www.nytimes.com every day, The New York
Times Job Market reaches a marketplace of high-quality professionals
actively seeking new job opportunities or considering career moves.
Each week, The New York Times Job Market issues research on
industry trends and workplace practices affecting employers and job
seekers in the metropolitan New York region. On a monthly basis, The
New York Times Job Market releases its Job Market Confidence Index.
The Index tracks current conditions for recruitment in the New York
metro area as well as the future outlook for the coming six months.
Copies of Job Market research reports are available upon request or at
www.nytimes.com/jobmarket. New York-based Beta Research Corporation,
via random telephone interviews, independently conducts The New York
Times Job Market research.
NOTE: Job Market research is not affiliated with the editorial
operations of The New York Times newspaper and does not reflect the
views of the newspaper or its journalists. Source all references to
Job Market research as: The New York Times Job Market.
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This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com and
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SOURCE: The New York Times Company
The New York Times
Diane McNulty, 212/556-5244
E-mail: mcnuldc@nytimes.com
Al Leach, 212/556-4483
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