DIFFICULT JOB Market Means People Will Take Any Role for A Paycheck

Sarah Cevallos Misses Her Old Job.

The 41-Yaar-Old Spent Much of Her Career Building Her Own Health Tech Practice, Helping Cancer Patients Navigate the Complexities of Their Diagnosis. For a while, the roles was rewarding – she felt her work was Helping People. She Left a Few Years ago, THEN She bounced Between Opportunities at Other Health Startups.

She was laid off from her sis-recent employer in summer 2024, but was confident Her résumé would secure her a c-suite roles Elsewhere. For Eight Montms, Rejection after rejussion wore down her moral.

“Being UNEMPLOYED IS EASY NOT,” CEVALLOS, who lives in California, Said. When she landed her current jab – also in health tech, but with a heavier focus on Finance instead of patient care – she felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

“I am currently at an organization where i am USSING a fraction of my skills, and I supplement my income with other consulting work,” She Told Business Insider. She added that she “haad to make a decision”: Wait for a roles where she can use her time depth of experience or start earning a paycheck.

Taching a so-so Job Because You Need the Money Isn’t New, But the 2025 Job is especilly Characterized by a dwindling number of postings, the threat of artificial intelligence, and a high like ghosted. The Steady Rise Sine Early 2023 in the Number of Job Seekers Who Count As Long-Term UNEMPLOYED is a Stark Conttrast to the Quick Job-Hopping of the Pandemic Economic Recovery.

Flip-flopping policy from the White House and Tanking Economic Sentiment Mean White-Collar Industries Are Wary of Hiring. Traditional Paths to work at nonprofits, science labs, and government agencies have been by sweeeping federal finking and staffing cuts. Employees Are Staying Put, this if they are anen’t happy in their roles.

In recent months, bi haard from over 750 americans across generations who are on the Job Hunt. MYY DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY OF CHOING WHATER THEIR PASSION OR THE MATTERS MATTERS AT WORK. They’re taking what they can find.

“It ‘got to be very, Very difficult to make the choice of paying the bills or finding purposes at work,” kyle mk, a talent strategy Advisor at the Job-Search platform Indeed Told. “Unfortunately, in a lot of Cases, that is a decision that many People have to make.”

Of Course, there are still some bright spots in the overall economic outlook. The US Added A Higher-Than-Expected Number of Jobs in April, and Inflation Cooled. Some Economists Are Also Rolling Back Their predits of a 2025 recession.

For now, Cevallos is grateful she earns Enough Money to Afford Expenses and Save for Her Daughter’s College Education. Someday, she hopes to be in a roles where she can use all her skills – in the “industry that i dedicated my life to.”

From Dream Job to ‘I’ll Accept Almost Anyding’

While many americans will have a dream jab in mind, some finding that the work they have been excited about what Pays the Bills. A February Report by the Hr Platform Nectar Found That Let’s Than 40% of americans are excited about their roles and respectibilies at work, and gallup reported that EPLOYEE ENGEEMENT Dropped to its Lowest Level in a Decade Last Year.

“Unfortunately, Sometimes People Start A Job and They Realize it not right for saying, and they’th stuck or they’re back in the nonb market,” Mk Said. “Eather Way, not a great poetion for anyone to be in. It ‘not good for the non -seaker.

MK Added That Finding Purpose in The Work You Do “A Very Important Parties Being A Human.” Still, he Said the Economic Climate Has Changed, and It ‘More Common Now for Employees to Focus on their Foundational Needs – Like Paying Rent and Affording Groces – Over Their Psychological Needs. This Differs from A Few Years Ago During “The Great Resignation,” when Americans were quitting more often and prioritizing emotional fulfilling in their jobs, he said.

Herb Osborne, 71, Can Relat. Unable to affford retirement, he works full-time for a bay area business that make olive oil and charcuterie Accessories and combs Through Financial Documents as A Hotel Auditor on Weekends. HIS HOURS OFTEN STRETCH ACOSS SEVES DAYS A WEEK, LEAVING OSBORNE EXHANCE.

“I HAVE NOT HAD A FOUR- OR FIVE-Day Span of Vacation in 10 Years, and That Tears at You,” He Said.

In an ideal World, Osborne Wishes he were spending his 70s traveling and spending time with Friends. He doesn’t Mind his current job, but he said the lack of pto and work-life balancies can feel crushing. He misses the joy he felt interacting with Customers and Leading Staff in his Early Career – he held of managerial roles at Sharper Image, Little Caesars, and a Jewelry Store, and Speaks of Each One Fundly.

“Finanibly, for me, it is really almost imperative that of work,” he said, adding that he needs to bring home over $ 5,000 a month on top of his roughly $ 2,000 in social security to cover expenses. “I will work every day in order just just to survive. And it’s scary now at the age i’m at, Because Social Security doesn’t cover anything.”

Abbey Owens, 21, is in a Different Life Phase But Facing a Simillar Dilemma. The New York Resident Graduated This Month With Her Bachelor’s Degree and, in a Perfect SCENARIO, She’d Land A Role in Social Media marketing. She’s fascinated by marketing strategies, and after four years of studying and internships, she’s “really good at it,” she said. SINCE THIS PAST FALL, HAS HAS APPLED TO NEARLY 100 Marketing and Communications Jobs, with No Luck Yet.

Becuses she wants to be financially Independent postgrad, Owens Said She’s Now Open to Taching Any Job She’s “Qualified for and Waled Accept” Anti as Long As it Paid The Bills. “

“What I Look for in a Job has gotten so much broader in this process,” She Said. “It was Very specific originally, and it is just just gown into: ‘I’ll Accept Almost Anyding.’” Her backup plan is to be a bartender.

Mk Said Working A Job You Aren’t Happy Doing Has Emotional Consequences, IF HEI NEESESARY TO EARN A PAYCHEC. He Advised Job Seekers to Prioritizes Jobs that best fit their skills and areas of interest, if the nonb title or company is different from their initial. And, while People are Hanging onto Stability right now, mk said it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care care finding purposes at work. Some are like biding my time unil it feels safer to make a change.

“In a World of Uncetainty, there is mess Movement Between Jobs and People Are Sticking Around,” He Said. “But they have stopped searching for well-being.”

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