Gallup reports that optimism about finding a job has jumped to a level rarely seen since the Great Recession. Improvement in gross domestic product, consumer sentiment and a drop in unemployment would seem to support this.

According to Gallup:

About three in 10 Americans say now is a good time to find a quality job, essentially unchanged from September. The percentage of U.S. adults who say it is a good time to find a job remains at one of the highest levels measured since the 2008 financial crisis. Although the 31% of Americans with positive views on quality job prospects is low on an absolute basis, it is on par with readings in the early 2000s.

The unemployment rate in the early 2000s ran about 5%, so it was a good time to find a job.

Gallup researchers also point out:

There is sustained, but incremental, progress in the share of Americans saying now is a good time to find a quality job. This may be in line with IMF projections suggesting that the U.S. economy is positioning itself to grow faster than originally forecast — and probably faster than any of its developed-economy peers other than the U.K. and Canada.

However, not all jobs optimism is created equal. Thirty-eight percent of people aged 18 to 29 believe now is a good time to find a job, in contrast to 25% in the age 65+ category. Among people who are college graduates, 40% say this is a good time to find a job, while 22% of people with an education of high school or less do so. Oddly, 37% people with a postgraduate education agree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also odd is the fact that among people who make $75,000 or more, 37% believe it is a good time to find a job. That is not much different from the 35% for people who make less than $30,000 a year.

If someone is looking for “good time to find a job” demographic patterns, there do not seem to be any.

Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 12 to 15, 2014, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 1,017 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

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