With few signs pointing to a solid economic recovery and the nation's unemployment rate hovering near a 26-year high, dissatisfaction remains prominent across the United States, especially in the financial services industry.
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According to a recent survey conducted by ""OneWire"":http://www.onewire.com, a national financial services recruitment firm headquartered in New York, 77 percent of finance professionals think the economic recovery has been largely unsuccessful and 51 percent believe the recovery thus far has had no positive impact on any aspect of their lives.
The responses collected in the company's latest survey indicate a departure from the rather hopeful outlook within the finance industry at the end of 2009.
Of the respondents who indicated that they are currently unemployed, 82 percent noted that they would likely accept any job offer, regardless of title or company, while
[COLUMN_BREAK]only 18 percent are willing to stick it out and be much more selective in their job searches. This compares to the results of a similar OneWire survey conducted last year, which found that 40 percent of finance job seekers were willing to accept any job offer.
""There is certainly an increased level of skepticism among financial professionals,"" said Skiddy von Stade, chairman and CEO of OneWire.
""As weekly jobless claims remain at heightened levels and competition increases for open positions, finance professionals are willing to be less selective in their searches and consider a broader range of opportunities,"" von Stade said. ""It is too soon to tell whether this recovery will ultimately be successful, but conditions for finance professionals clearly remain challenging.""
Despite a willingness to be less selective, 55 percent of unemployed respondents noted that their job search has lasted longer than six months, whereas last year, only 32 percent believed their search would last that long. In fact, 67 percent of all survey respondents indicated that they know at least one person who has been out of work for more than one year.
The outcome of OneWire's survey reflects finance professionals' dissatisfaction with not only the job market, but also with the economic recovery in general and its ability to improve other aspects of their lives. Eight percent of survey respondents indicated that either their careers or personal finances have worsened since the recession began.