Job hopping looks attractive again

TALLINN - While two out of ten working persons in Estonia were thinking about changing jobs last year, this year the number has risen to three out of ten, reports EPL Online. A survey on the reputation of employers that was carried out by TNS Emor indicated that the stabilized economic situation, as well as the increased work burden on employees who have escaped redundancy in enterprises, have again made more people think about the possibility of changing jobs.
Business leaders and specialists, along with people with less than one year of work experience are most often considering changing jobs.

While last year’s labor market in Estonia could be characterized by keywords such as instability, lack of certainty, fear of losing jobs and preparedness to accept worse employment terms, this year the situation has stabilized slightly, indicated the study.

During the economic boom years, the employees’ expectations on average pay were growing, but in 2009, the year of redundancies and pay cuts, the employees lowered their pay expectations. In 2010, the average pay expectation did not change in comparison to the previous year.

The fact that the situation on the labor market is improving is also indicative by the private sector increasing its popularity as an employer. In 2009, the public sector seemed to be more stable and the safer choice in looking for work; this year practically half of the respondents among employees prefer to work in the private sector.
The most popular employer for individuals is still Eesti Energia, which is followed by Tallink, then the State Forest Management Center, Elion and the Port of Tallinn.

The survey on the reputation of employers was carried out in April and May 2010. In the course of the poll, expectations and preferences of 417 Estonian residents who are employees were mapped. In the poll on students, 481 students of economics, sciences and technical disciplines from the ten biggest universities in Estonia took part.