As skyrocketing prices erode consumers’ purchasing power, Americans are searching for new jobs with inflation in mind. Here are three ways that job seekers in the market right now are altering their job search plans to escape higher prices:
- Job seekers are flocking towards remote roles to reduce gas costs. The 48.7% year-over-year growth in gas prices has made commuting considerably more expensive. That has made many job seekers prioritize “where” over “what” in their next job. 37.5% of job seekers said rising gasoline prices have made them more likely to look for remote work whereas another 10.1% said inflation had made them more likely to seek a higher-paying job.
- Older workers are unretiring, pushed by inflation. In June, 21.5% of job seekers who are currently looking for a job said they had retired at some point previously. Among those, 35.8% cited inflation as the number one reason that they have unretired and are now seeking employment. Another 26.2% said that they are rejoining the workforce because they are running out of retirement savings.
- Job seekers are rejecting offers that pay too little. In a market where employers are fiercely competing for candidates, 48% of job seekers in June said that they had already secured at least one job offer. Among those, almost half—49.7%—said they had rejected an offer, with 26.7% citing “not enough pay” as the reason for doing so.
