CivicScience constantly tracks breaking news events in its News & Insights section. For even deeper insights we won’t publish, get in touch.

The latest jobs report released by the Labor Department last Friday may be strong enough to fend off further interest rate increases for the time being, according to sources. The still-strong labor market continued to show signs of cooling, as the unemployment rate and job gains exceeded expectations, while wage growth lagged last year’s rate.

As hiring slowed over the summer, CivicScience data showed overall confidence in finding a new job slid from the start of July and into August. That raises additional questions as to how labor market changes are impacting the average American consumer.

Data collected this week indicate that 20% of U.S. adults are searching for a job right now, up one percentage point from January. Likewise, more Americans are gearing up to search for a new job in the next 12 months – 16% say it’s ‘very likely’ they’ll be searching for a new job, up 23% since January.

Who is most likely to search for a new job in the next 12 months?

Among those currently employed within the last year:

  • People in hybrid work situations are by far the most likely – 65% say it’s at least ‘somewhat likely’ they will be job-searching, compared to 44% of fully remote workers and 40% of fully in-person workers.
  • Those working in Professional/Management jobs (47% are at least ‘somewhat likely,’ with 26% ‘very likely’) and Computer/Technical/Medical jobs (71% are at least ‘somewhat likely, with 17% ‘very likely’) to job search.
  • Men are overall more likely than women to plan on job-searching in the months ahead, particularly fully remote male workers – 69% are at least somewhat likely to job search in the months ahead, compared to just 24% of female fully remote workers.

What are the reasons for wanting to find a new job?

Overall job happiness is trending downward heading into Q4, with fully remote workers averaging as the least happy in their positions, followed by hybrid workers and fully in-person workers. As of Q3, 28% of workers say they are at least ‘somewhat unhappy’ in their jobs, up from 25% in Q2.

A closer look at motivations shows that income remains the leading reason driving job-seekers, which stayed consistent since January. Workers today are more likely to say improved job flexibility and better benefits are important, while career growth (-40%) and greater job security (-14%) rank as less important.

Looking for more job-related insights? The CivicScience InsightStore regularly tracks how consumers are driving and responding to changes in the labor market. Get in touch to learn more.