As consumers decide whether they want to keep getting employee benefits from their workplace or switch to the insurance marketplaces that are scheduled to open in October, a new poll reveals that many people won't be able to make this decision at all, describing their area's job market as being substandard.
According to the survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive, roughly half of Americans rate the job availability in their region as being "bad." Of these, close to two in five – 42 percent – expect the economy to be in the shape 12 months from now, with 31 percent believing it will worsen and 27 percent expecting it to improve.
"While the unemployment numbers may be slowly drifting down, attitudes towards the job market overall are not following," the survey indicated. "Almost half of Americans rate the current job market in their region of the country as bad, while three in 10 say it is neither good nor bad and less than one-quarter say it is good."
However, among business owners, many of them say that they're hiring. In the most recent issue of TriNet SMBeat, which tracks economic indicators and business employment among small businesses, there's been a noted rise in month-over-month job growth in white collar job sectors, specifically technology. According to the report, cities like Boston, New York and Atlanta saw job creation growth rise 2 percent since March. Other industries to log net hiring increases include construction and life sciences.
Based on the latest numbers from the Labor Department, the economy added 169,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate down by one-tenth of a percent to 7.3 percent. That's the lowest it's been in nearly five years.
