Job Seekers Expect Long Search

Dec. 29, 2006 -- Job seekers expect to spend seven to 14 months searching for work, according to a call-in survey conducted by outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The average length of unemployment for callers was 1.14 years. However, the average was skewed higher by the 12 percent of callers -- mostly women returning to the workforce after raising a family -- who have been out of work for four or more years. For those unemployed less than a year, the average length of unemployment was 3.6 months.

Thirty-nine percent of callers identified age discrimination as the primary obstacle preventing them from finding a job. Only 14 percent of survey respondents said that the biggest obstacle to new employment is a lack of jobs in their field.

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