Job.com “Pulse of the Job Market” Quidget® Poll Results

1. presents The Pulse of the Job Market Results from the Job.com QuidgetTM Poll, September – December 2010 The Quidget® Company

3. Give job seekers an opportunity to share and compare their views with othersCommissioned by Job.com and powered by Netpop QuidgetTMtechnology, responses were collected over 79 days across hundreds of websites Due to the non-scientific method used to sample respondents, findings are only representative of the individuals who elected to participate

4. Three groups of the U.S. job market were examined 1 Unemployed and looking for work (n=7812) Q: What’s your employment status? Total Sample Employed but would like to make more money (n=3725) 3 Unemployed but happy to be taking time off (n=4660) n=16197 Base: All respondents 2

5. Overall, job seekers are much less optimistic than other groups – 54 percent say the market is “dire, no hope in site” Q: What’s your view of the job market? Employed but would like to make more money (n=3724) Unemployed but happy to be taking time off (n=4660) Unemployed and looking for work (n=7813) Better – the job market is bouncing back Dire – no hope in sight

6. Rising optimism among job seekers in late September was derailed in early October and continued to decline into November Q: What’s your view of the job market? Oct. 8, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rate remained unchanged in September at 9.6% Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up modestly in September (+64,00) Dec. 3, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rate edged up to 9.8% in November Nov. 5, Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rate remained unchanged in October at 9.6% n varies by week Base: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

7. Not surprisingly, the outlook declined more steeply among job seekers than other groups and remained lower into December Q: What’s your view of the job market? Percent Who Say Market is “Better – the Job Market is Bouncing Back” Among those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off Among those who are employed but would like to make more money Among those who are unemployed and looking for work n varies by week for each group Base: All respondents

8. Interestingly, the decline was driven largely by those who consider networking the best place to go for leads What does it mean? A “network effect” may have amplified negative news in the media on the job market, sharply depressing the outlook of those who rely more heavily on social networking for leads Q: What’s your view of the job market? Percent Who Say Market is “Better – the Job Market is Bouncing Back” Among those who consider networking the best Among those who consider online job boards the best Among those who consider job fairs the best n varies by week for each group Base: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

9. Over 2 in 5 job seekers say networking through family, friends and business contacts is the best place to go for job leads Q: Where’s the best place to go for job leads? (Select one) Three in 10 say online job boardsare the best place to go n = 7812 Base: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

10. Networking is consistently considered the best place to go for leads … Q: Where’s the best place to go for job leads? (Select one) ... although it appears to enhance anxiety among job seekers (see earlier slide) n varies by week Base: Those who are unemployed and looking for work

11. Those happy to be taking time off are spending more time with family, indulging in travel/hobbies, or going back to school Q: How are you enjoying your time-off? (Select all that apply) n = 4660 Base: Those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off

12. Those happy to be taking time off are delaying their return to work Q: When will you begin your job search? n varies by week Base: Those who are unemployed but happy to be taking time off

13. For those employed to consider a new job, “quality of life” is more important than a big raise or promotion Q: What would most get you to consider a new job? n = 3725 Base: Employed but would like to make more money

14. Summary of Findings *Further research is needed to validate this hypothesis

15. For more information: Kristen Reed – kreed@job.com Josh Crandall – Josh@netpop.com