Forty Percent of Workers Plan to Change Jobs in 2004, New CareerBuilder.com Survey Reveals

More than Half of Workers Did Not Receive a Bonus This Year and 40 Percent Did Not Receive a Raise

CHICAGO, December 30, 2003 - Topping the list of New Year's resolutions for four-in-ten workers is finding a new job in 2004, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey. Workers are motivated by the desire to find a more satisfactory work experience, make more money and advance their careers. The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Plans for 2004," was conducted from November 18, 2003 to December 4, 2003 of more than 1,900 workers.

Nearly one-in-four workers (24 percent) say they are generally dissatisfied with their jobs. Although this is an improvement over the 29 percent who said they were dissatisfied in a CareerBuilder.com survey completed in December 2002, more workers today are on the prowl for a new job opportunity compared to a year ago. Thirty-five percent of workers said they planned to change jobs in 2003 compared to 40 percent of workers planning to find new positions in 2004.

"One-in-two workers say they feel optimistic about the economy in 2004 and 41 percent expect their job prospects to become more abundant in the coming year," said Matt Ferguson, president and chief operating officer of CareerBuilder.com. "Workers plan to capitalize on an improved economy and seek out opportunities that will increase pay scales and propel their careers forward. After enduring layoffs, heavier workloads and postponed raises, workers expect to be compensated fairly and competitively with salary increases, bonuses or promotions."

Sixty percent of surveyed workers did not receive a bonus in 2003 and 40 percent did not receive a salary increase. The vast majority of workers received a salary increase of five percent or less and only 18 percent received an increase of 10 percent or more. Of those who did receive a salary increase, 45 percent indicated that the amount did not meet their expectations. For these workers, 46 percent plan to change jobs next year.

Nearly four-in-ten workers (39 percent) report dissatisfaction with opportunities for career advancement at their current jobs with 82 percent stating they did not receive a promotion in 2003.

"The lack of a promotion figures prominently in how workers feel about their jobs," said Ferguson. "Receiving a promotion enables workers to gain additional experience, obtain public recognition for a job well done and advance their careers. For workers who were overlooked for a promotion in 2003, only 27 percent are satisfied with their jobs and 65 percent plan to find a new position in 2004 rather than wait for a promotion at their current place of employment."

For workers looking to make a fresh start in 2004, CareerBuilder.com offers smart online products to target job searches for salaried and hourly positions. The site gives job seekers the choice to search by industry, location and job type, and provides online career assessments, coaching for interviews and tips for salary negotiations. Job seekers can indicate their work preferences, education and experience and have jobs automatically emailed to them. Interested employers can review job seeker profiles and contact qualified candidates directly.

Owned by Tribune Company, Gannett and Knight Ridder, CareerBuilder.com has a wide network of partnerships to help job seekers connect with potential employers. Including its affiliations with over 130 newspapers, CareerBuilder.com powers the career sites for more than 350 partners.

CareerBuilder.com continues to expand its distribution network to connect employers with job seekers. On December 1, 2003, CareerBuilder.com launched its partnership with America Online. Employers are able to reach millions of job seekers through the new Find a Job Channel on AOL, CompuServe and Netscape. On January 1, 2004, CareerBuilder.com will launch its alliance with MSN to deliver CareerBuilder.com's leading recruitment and job searching services to the millions of consumers who visit the MSN Careers Channel.

The Survey
The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Plans for 2004," was conducted from November 18, 2003 to December 4, 2003 of more than 1,900 employed full-time workers. To collect data for the survey, 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 results of this survey are accurate within +/- 2.23 percent (19 times out of 20).

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 http://www.careerbuilder.com.

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

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