50 per cent of laid-off US workers get new jobs: report

Nearly half of the US workers who were laid off in the last three months have found a new job despite the gloomy predictions, a new survey showed.

Forty-one per cent of workers laid off from full-time jobs in the US over the last three months have found new full-time permanent positions, while another 8 per cent found part-time work, according to a survey conducted by research firm Harris Interactive for job portal CareerBuilder.com.

"This is encouraging news for the 3.3 million workers who have lost their jobs in the recent months," Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, said. "It's going to take longer to find a job in today's market, but there are opportunities out there in key areas such as healthcare, government, education, sales and technology," he said.

The survey, which covered 807 workers laid-off from full-time jobs in the past 12 months, found more men finding an alternate job than women who were laid-off.

"59 per cent of men compared to 49 per cent of women were able to find full-time employment," the survey said.

Workers in the 35-44 age group were most likely to find full-time jobs while those in the 18-24 age group were least likely to get a job.