As the American jobs situation has slightly improved, people have become more concerned about the quality of the jobs that can get. That appears to mean people believe that jobs can be gotten at all. A year or two ago, even that hope was nearly lost.

Gallup reports that of those surveyed,  ‘Eighty-seven percent say it is now a “bad time” to find a quality job, while 12% think it is a “good time.”‘

Unfortunately, for those who want some direction from the research, the term “quality job” is subjective and therefore poorly defined.

Overall, the results should be considered good news. Poor quality jobs are at least a way for people to earn income in a world in which many people still struggle, perhaps less each month, to locate work. Perhaps some of the despair linked with very high unemployment has begun to dissipate even if people believe that the work they want is not available, and must be replaced by the work they need.

Methodology: Results for all Americans are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 15-18, 2011, with a random sample of 1,019 national adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Douglas A.McIntyre

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