A Harris Interactive poll asked 2,800 workers nationwide about the status of raises and perks at their companies and the general employment outlook. Here’s what they said.
Only about 33% employees expect a pay raise or even a cost-of-living increase in the next 12 months; 50% do not expect any increase. Salary expectations were lower in the West than in any other region.
- 41% said they’re concerned the company will have a layoff in the next six months; about 25% think they could be laid off
- 39% expect their company outlook to be better in 6 months.
- About 33% think it’s “unlikely” they could find a job within six months if they lost theirs.
- 54% report their company has made changes to the number of staff, organizational structure, compensation and benefits, or other perks over the past six months. Of those reporting these changes, 58% said the common scenarios were layoffs or communicating plans to lay off employees.
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July 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
To those who voted for “Change”: here it comes!
July 16th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Well, if you voted for hope and change, looks like you’re getting exactly what you ordered. Sounds pretty dismal to me.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Do you really think that none of this would be happening if the outcome of the election had been different? Clearly our current economic state was set in motion before we all voted.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Yep Rick it looks that way. Don’t forget the old mantra, “It’s George Bushes fault”
July 16th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Big ships don’t turn around in 15 minutes. Give Obama a chance. He is our leader after all. The last frightful recession I went through took YEARS to correct. Big ships don’t turn around in 15 minutes but they can sink fast. Let’s all be good citizens and keep working hard and do the best we can for our country including keeping the negative chatter down a bit.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Rich Hampton, you can’t just change the economy overnight. You repukes really screwed us over and it takes time to correct your mess.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Well, I am hoping(begging) for change. Brother, can you spare a dime?
July 17th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
… and which of these businesses that are not granting raises have CEO’s and CFO’s that are liberal Democrats? Quit being so naive. Recovery will take a long time and involve more than just one party. I blame us, all of us. We are the consumers always looking for the lowest price and the investors loking for the quickest buck.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
So the POOR CHOICES that were made in the past eight years is supposed to be fixed in 7 mos? Unrealistic thought processing. Were you unemployeed during the Bush years. I was and it was worse then–out of work for more than a year and only able to get a job at half the salary!
March 10th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
If you believe this is a Bush or an Obama problem you have not been watching. This is the natural consequence of 65 years of governemt oversprnding, short term expediency by corporate governance and continued pressure from organized labor. I was out of work in the Ford – Carter recession. It was as obvious then as it is now. Our culture of consumption and greed is simply not sustainable.
Looking back to the 1940′s the US was the only industrial economy not physically and fiscally destroyed by WWll. We were the 8000 pound elephant – unrivaled as the most productive nation in the world. Business could afford lavish benefits for workers, huge dividends for shareholders, and huge salary increases with shorter work schedules for unions. All the while government grew expentitures on all fronts with pork barrel projects and entitlements.
It seemed there were boundless resources until the oil crisis and recession of the late 1970s coming just on heals of the Viet Nam war we had not paid for. To the astute, it was obvious the party was over. The leveling effect of other world economic powers had reduced the unassailable US economy to just one of several economic forces competing in world markets and competing for scarce crude oil. Unfortunately BIG government, BIG Business, BIG Labor and BIG Entitlements were not astute and continued their spending practices unchanged.
Only aerospace and the emerging computer technologies provided productivity growth sufficient to avoid a total collapse in the 1980s. Since then we have been living on barrowed time and borrowed money. We have taken no reasonable steps in anyeconomic or cultural sector to avert wht is coming. We cannot afford the excesses to which we have become so expectant.
The time of reckoning is here — Any and all Politicians simply complicit!