Nearly Half of Retail Workers Plan to Leave Their Jobs in 2005

Diversity Recruitment a Top Initiative for Retail Hiring Managers

CHICAGO, January 17, 2005 – Finding a new job is on the list of New Year’s resolutions for 47 percent of retail workers, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey. The desire for higher compensation, a lighter workload and better career advancement opportunities are the top three factors motivating their plans to shop around for a bigger, better deal. The survey, “Retail Workers 2005,” was conducted from November 22, 2004 to December 2, 2004 of more than 360 retail workers.

Forty-eight percent of retail workers say they do not look forward to going to work each day with more than half stating their paychecks are not providing enough incentive. Dissatisfaction with pay rose from 50 percent in August to 54 percent in the latest survey. Seventy-eight percent of retail workers say they did not receive a bonus in 2004 and 46 percent have not received a salary boost. Of those who were given a raise, more than one-third reported the raise was 3 percent or less.

The area where more retail workers have been seeing an increase is workload. More than two-thirds have observed their workloads rose significantly in the last six months and 35 percent say they struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance. The pressure to meet the demands of their customers, employers and families has left 48 percent feeling excessive stress on the job.

Retail workers also voiced concern over the lack of a clear path for career advancement at their current employers. Four-in-ten report challenges with moving up the company ladder and one-fourth report being overlooked for a promotion.

“CareerBuilder.com sees more than 1 million job searches in retail every month and one-in-five retail workers surveyed admit to looking for a new job on a daily basis,” said Diane Christopher, Retail Employment Expert at CareerBuilder.com. “While this poses risks for losing employees, it also presents retailers with opportunities to recruit new, diverse talent.”

In an earlier survey, one-in-five retail hiring managers said diverse candidates will make up 25 percent or more of their new hires in the first quarter 2005. Retailers also reported difficulty in finding diverse employees as 36 percent of retail workers say they don’t market themselves as diverse candidates.

CareerBuilder.com offers retailers multiple touch points to connect with potential employees. CareerBuilder.com powers the online career sites for more than 450 partners reaching national, local, industry, diversity and niche audiences. These include America Online, MSN, the National Retail Federation Foundation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, STORES Magazine, Chain Store Age and more.

Survey Methodology
The new CareerBuilder.com survey, “Retail Workers 2005,” was conducted from November 22, 2004 to December 2, 2004 of more than 360 retail workers. To collect data for the survey, CareerBuilder.com commissioned SurveySite to use an email methodology whereby individuals who are members of SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected and approached by email invitation to participate in the online survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/-5.13 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s leading online job network with more than 15 million unique visitors and over 600,000 jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE: KRI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the online career centers for more than 450 partners that reach national, local, industry, diversity and niche audiences. These include more than 130 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 30,000 of the nation’s top employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 10 million-plus resumes, comprehensive screening tools and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information, visit 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