U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Summary 97-14

November 1997

Looking for a Job while Employed

About 6.0 million persons, 5.6

percent of wage and salary workers,

actively looked for a new job in the 3

months prior to February 1995. Until

recently, very little has been known about

such job search among those who already

are employed. How many employed

jobseekers are there? How does the

number vary by age, sex, education, and

occupation? Answers to these questions

were collected in a supplement to the

Current Population Survey in February

1995.

Age made a difference

Among adult workers, the job search

rate (the proportion of wage and salary

workers who were actively searching for

jobs) decreases with age. (See chart.)

Young adults often hold a series of shortterm or part-time jobs if they are

attending school, and once they have

completed their schooling, they are more

apt to try different kinds of jobs early in

their careers to learn which ones best suit

their interests and abilities. As workers

age, many find suitable job matches and

become less likely to seek other employment opportunities. Also, older workers

may become more reluctant to change

jobs because doing so could jeopardize

earnings and benefits such as pensions

and paid vacations, premiums gained

through experience that could be lost

with a change in employers.

Among teenagers, school enrollment

appears to limit the likelihood of

searching for another job. Wage and

salary workers ages 16 to 19 who were

not enrolled in school were twice as

likely as those attending school to seek

jobs. The difference was smaller among

20 to 24 year-olds. Regardless of age,

men are more likely than women to

search for another job while employed.

Education and job mismatches

In virtually every occupational

category, employed persons with higher

levels of educational attainment have

the highest job search rates. In some

occupations, these may be workers who

have still not found the job commensurate with their level of education. For

example, the job search rates for service

and sales workers with a bachelor’s

degree were 12.5 and 7.6 percent,

respectively, compared to 5.1 and 5.4

percent, respectively, for those with a

high school diploma.

Among the major occupational

groups, handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers had the highest job

search rate, followed closely by workers

in sales occupations. Workers in precision

production, craft, and repair occupations

demonstrated the lowest job search rate,

while rates for workers in managerial,

professional, and technical occupations

were slightly below the overall average.

(See table)

Additional information

In the February 1995 Current Population Survey, employed persons (except

unpaid family workers) who had worked

for their employer for at least 3 months

were asked if they had looked for other

employment since December 1994.

Workers with less than 3 months of

tenure were asked if they had looked for

other employment since they started

working for their employer. Those who

responded affirmatively to either question

were asked if they had been looking for a

new job or an additional or second job.

Percent of employed wage and salary workers who had actively looked

for a new job in the prior 3 months by age, February 1995

8.0

9.0

7.0

5.0

3.7

2.1

.9

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

16 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years

and over

Percent
Employed wage and salary workers who had actively searched for a new job in

the prior 3 months by age, sex, occupation, and educational attainment,

February 1995

(Numbers in thousands)

 Total, 16 years and over .......................... 108,876 6,044 5.6

16 to 19 years ............................................. 5,424 435 8.0

20 to 24 years ............................................. 12,103 1,091 9.0

25 to 34 years ............................................. 29,620 2,067 7.0

35 to 44 years ............................................. 29,806 1,492 5.0

45 to 54 years ............................................. 20,271 743 3.7

55 to 64 years ............................................. 9,277 195 2.1

65 years and over ....................................... 2,375 22 .9

Men ............................................................. 56,883 3,343 5.9

Women ........................................................ 51,993 2,701 5.2

Executive, administrative, and mana-

 gerial ......................................................... 13,773 727 5.3

Professional specialty ................................. 16,428 876 5.3

Technicians and related support ................. 3,829 203 5.3

Sales occupations ....................................... 12,042 804 6.7

Administrative support, including

 clerical ....................................................... 17,764 971 5.5

Private households ..................................... 846 55 6.6

Protective service ....................................... 2,169 126 5.8

Service, except private household and

 protective .................................................. 12,393 774 6.2

Precision production, craft, and repair ........ 11,229 502 4.5

Machine operators, assemblers, and

 inspectors ................................................. 7,558 352 4.7

Transportation and material moving

 occupations ............................................... 4,620 229 5.0

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

 and laborers .............................................. 4,676 328 7.0

Farming, forestry, and fishing ...................... 1,549 98 6.3

Less than a high school diploma ................ 13,714 578 4.2

High school graduates, no college .............. 34,959 1,555 4.4

Less than a bachelor’s degree .................... 32,705 2,093 6.4

College graduates ....................................... 27,499 1,818 6.6

 Bachelor’s degree ..................................... 18,453 1,203 6.5

 Advanced degree ...................................... 9,046 615 6.8

Questions also were asked about job search

methods. Passive job search methods include

looking at ads or attending job training programs

or courses. Active methods, include contacting

employers directly, contacting public or private

employment agencies, using the services of a

school or university employment center, asking

friends or relatives about available jobs, sending

out resumes or completing employment applications, placing ads, and checking union or professional employment registers. This analysis

focused on wage and salary workers, excluding

the incorporated self employed, who had actively

searched for a new job. Data on job search among

employed persons were collected again in

February 1997.

For additional information on job search of the

employed and a technical description of the CPS,

contact Timothy D. Consedine, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of

Labor Statistics, Washington, DC 20212. Tel.

(202) 606-6378. Internet: Consedine_T@bls.gov

Information in this report is available to

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice

phone: (202) 606-7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-

5897: TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-

2577. This material is in the public domain and

with appropriate credit, may be reproduced

without permission.

Characteristic Total

Job

search

 rate

Actively

searched for

a new job

Age

Sex

Occupation

Educational attainment