Poll: Workers More Worried About Pay, Prospects
American workers are becoming more worried about the security of their income and benefits as well as their employability, according to a new survey by market research firm Harris Interactive.
The Harris Poll Jobs and Benefits Security Index found that 57 percent of workers had those concerns in April, up one percentage point from March.
Harris said the index reflects concern particularly among older and higher income workers. Workers with annual household incomes of $50,000 to $74,999 are the most concerned income group, and also showed the sharpest month-over-month rise of concerned workers, from 58 percent to 62 percent. Workers age 55 and older had the greatest overall concern.
The poll also found 53 percent of workers said they expect to do more work without getting more money in the next three months, up from 50 percent in March.
Meanwhile, 24 percent said they expect to have their salaries or hours cut in the next three months. That was up from 20 percent in March.
The outlook for new jobs also became more pessimistic as 55 percent of workers said they believe they'd find new jobs if they were to look for one, compared to 61 percent in March.
"Escalation in the index speaks to structural changes occurring in today's workplace, with employers seeking growth in worker productivity, at the expense of hiring a new full-time employee with increasing tax and benefits costs," said Harris President and CEO Al Angrisani, who was also an assistant secretary of labor during the Reagan administration. "Recruiting and hiring talent and new employees appears to have become a major investment consideration for employers and this new phenomenon is contributing to an increase in job 'insecurity' within corporate America."
Harris also noted that the study was done in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and said results may reflect anxieties that the attack could have a ripple effect on the economy.
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