CareerBuilder.com Releases Comprehensive Report on Worker Trends and Plans to Change Jobs

CHICAGO, November 17, 2003 - Nearly one-in-four workers say they are currently dissatisfied with their jobs, a 20 percent increase over 2001. Six-in-ten workers say they plan to leave their jobs for other pursuits in the next two years. These statistics and others can be found in CareerBuilder.com's new report on worker trends and aspirations titled "At Work 2003: Past, Present and Future." The in-depth report compares workers' attitudes and opinions between 2001 and 2003, discusses trends in select industries and job functions, and explores gender differences in perceptions of work.

CareerBuilder.com has conducted periodic surveys of American workers over the years to provide employers with valuable insights into the minds of current and potential employees. The company's new report measures overall job satisfaction and the corresponding impact of certain factors such as pay, workload, experience gained on the job, hours spent at work, work/life balance, stress and job security. The report also analyzes the current condition of the worker in terms of career progress and expectations to change jobs. The data is based on the results of two CareerBuilder.com surveys: "Worker Resilience Post 9/11" completed in October 2001 and "At Work 2003" completed in September 2003.

"While workers feel fortunate to have jobs in today's tight job market, job satisfaction levels are declining and new job plans are emerging in anticipation of an economic recovery down the road," said Matt Ferguson, President and COO of CareerBuilder.com. "CareerBuilder.com's report is designed to help employers gain perspective on the mindset of the worker and use this information to implement successful strategies for attracting and retaining top performers."

Highlights of General Trends:

- Less than half of workers today say they are satisfied with their career progress.
- Forty-eight percent of workers feel their workloads are too heavy, slightly higher than in 2001. One-in-two workers say they work under a great deal of stress, the same as in 2001.
- In 2003, 53 percent of men said they are dissatisfied with their pay, a 23 percent increase over the 43 percent who shared this sentiment in 2001. Women have stayed relatively consistent in their perspectives with one-in-two expressing unhappiness with compensation.

In addition to general trends, At Work 2003: Past, Present and Future identifies workers' attitudes and aspirations in specific industries such as health services, retail, hospitality, education, government, and food and beverage service. The report compares current job satisfaction levels amongst select industries as well as the tendency to change jobs and employers, and plans for new endeavors in 2004 and 2005.

Highlights of the Comparison of Select Industries:

- Workers in education report the highest level of job satisfaction at 75 percent, followed by 68 percent of workers in health services.
- Two-in-ten hospitality workers have worked for 10 or more employers throughout their careers.
- Seven-in-ten workers in government and six-in-ten workers in health services do not plan to change jobs in 2004 while three-in-ten workers in retail and food and beverage service will be on the hunt for a new job next year.

At Work 2003: Past, Present and Future also includes a discussion of worker trends relative to specific job functions such as sales, accounting/financial operations, customer service and administrative/clerical positions.

Highlights of the Comparison of Select Job Functions:

- Seven-in-ten workers in sales and customer service plan to leave their jobs in the next two years.
- Six-in-ten workers in accounting/financial operations and administrative/clerical functions say they are satisfied with their jobs and with the experience gained on the job.
- Of the job functions compared, workers in accounting/financial operations are the most satisfied with their career progress at 56 percent and workers in customer service are the least satisfied at 32 percent.

Copies of the report are available upon request.

The Surveys

To collect data for the surveys, CareerBuilder.com commissioned SurveySite to use an e-mail methodology whereby individuals who are members of SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected and approached by e-mail invitation to participate in the online survey.

The CareerBuilder.com "Worker Resilience: Post-9/11" survey was conducted from October 25, 2001 through October 30, 2001. A total of 1,672 full-time and part-time workers participated in the survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/- 2.8 percentage points. CareerBuilder.com's "At Work 2003" survey was conducted from August 11, 2003 to September 10, 2003 of more than 2,425 full-time and part-time workers participated in the survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/- 2.0 percentage points.

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche audiences, CareerBuilder.com makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support. Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 400,000 continuously updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in virtually every industry, field and location. Together with Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), CareerBuilder.com includes the Web's top newspaper sites - the most trusted employment sources in recruiting. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit CareerBuilder.com at www.careerbuilder.com.

To Request a Copy of CareerBuilder.com's At Work 2003: Past, Present and Future
To request a copy of CareerBuilder.com's At Work 2003: Past, Present and Future, please contact Jennifer Sullivan of CareerBuilder.com. She can be reached at (773) 527-1164 or via email at jennifer.sullivan@careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com