57% of Surveyed U.S. Workers Plan to Intensify Job Search in The Next Three Months

Salary.com, Inc., a provider of on-demand compensation and talent management solutions, today unveiled results from its third annual Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey. Despite fears of recession, more than half of the 7,000 employees surveyed are likely to intensify their job search in the next three months. This percentage is slowly decreasing; in 2006 nearly 65% of employees surveyed were actively looking and in 2007 just over 60% of employees said they planned to look for a new job in the next three months.

ìJob satisfaction varies from person to person and is based on many different factors,î said Bill Coleman, chief compensation officer, Salary.com. ìIn the wake of a possible recession, employees may be looking for a new job but wonít make a move unless they receive a good offer from a stable employer. Itís important to keep in mind that compensation may be a key factor as to why employees would consider leaving a job but itís not the top reason they stay in their current job.î

The 2007/2008 Job Satisfaction & Retention Survey revealed many other interesting results, including that inadequate compensation is the top reason employees gave as to why they would leave their job:

The Top 5 Reasons for Leaving a Job as Reported by Employees
1. Inadequate compensation: 27 percent
2. Lack of career advancement: 19 percent
3. Insufficient recognition: 17 percent
4. Boredom: 11 percent
5. No professional development: 11 percent

Fifty percent of employers surveyed feel a job offer with an 8 ñ 15 percent salary increase from a competitor would be enough to lure away current employees. Yet on average, employers are willing to give an average raise of just 7% to entice employees to stay.

Not surprisingly, employers are aware of the high costs associated with replacing workers due to turnover. Employers across all industries estimate the cost to replace a typical employee due to turnover to average approximately $21,000. Some industries estimate recruitment costs to be well above that figure. Representatives from the Biotech industry estimate replacement costs to run more than $46,000, followed by Aerospace and Defense at over $30,000 and Energy and Utilities at slightly over $28,000. To see which industries round out the Top 5 in estimated employee replacement costs view a complete overview of the survey at: http://www.salary.com/docs/resources/JobSatSurvey_08.pdf

The 2007/2008 Job Satisfaction & Retention Survey also illustrated some interesting trends along gender lines. Women place a higher importance on desirable working hours and relationships with managers and co-workers while men list attractive compensation as the most important factor in job satisfaction:

Women vs. Men: Top 5 Reasons for Staying In a Job

- Women - Men
Relationship with co-workers - 28% - 22%
Relationship with manager - 27% - 22%
Desirable working hours - 26% - 18%
Attractive benefits - 22% - 18%
Attractive compensation - 16% - 27%

2007/2008 Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey Methodology
Salary.com invited a cross-section of individual employees and business representatives from across America to participate in its 2007/2008 Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey. Prospective participants received an email containing the survey questionnaire. Participants completed as many sections of the survey as they desired, and then submitted their results to Salary.com electronically.

Salary.com compensation professionals reviewed the data for consistency and accuracy and excluded data that appeared to be invalid. A total of 7,482 individuals and 245 human resource or other company representatives responded to our survey. Among the individual employee respondents, 7,101 were employed and provided valid responses to the survey questionsóthe remaining 381 were excluded from all analysis.

Recipients of this report will find it impossible to discern the data contribution of any individual or company. Submissions were aggregated with data submitted by similar groups before results were calculated. Each numerical result reported in this document is based on data submitted by at least five (and often many more) separate respondents. This conservative approach is designed to protect participant confidentiality, and is consistent with the ìSafe Harborî guidelines adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.