A new study has found that around 61% of US job seekers are considering to change careers due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on some industries.
An survey on job seeker insights discovered that approximately 61% of US job seekers, including people who are looking for new roles and people who are unemployed, are looking to careers in another industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The study, commissioned by Amazon and conducted by Morning Consult, was part of the e-commerce giant's Career Day event on September 16, in which a team of 1,000 Amazon recruiters will hold 20,000 free career coaching sessions.
Job seekers survey
Morning Consult said over half of the American job seekers surveyed who are currently looking for a new job are doing so due to the pandemic.
This is in line with the current trends in the US, including the loss of more than 11.5 million jobs in the US economy since the beginning of pandemic and with an additional 884,000 filing new jobless claims last week.
The study also discovered that some job seekers were anxious about a skills gap while the labor market evolves in the country. Morning Consult stated that over 27% of those surveyed expect that some or all of their skills will become irrelevant in the next five years.
Additionally, almost half of the respondents said they willing to quit their current job to go to a different company if the new employer offers company-funded skills training.
Majority of these job seekers are looking to transfer into fields such as healthcare and technology, which reflects that these two industries are still booming at a time when many are suffering.
According to an Amazon spokesperson, survey respondents were also pessimistic about opportunities in travel, leisure and hospitality industry, with 53% saying they believe it is unlikely for businesses to hire new employees because of the pandemic.
Amazon's Career Day
The e-commerce firm is hosting a Career Day on September 16, which will be open to everyone looking for a job.
In its press release, Amazon said the 20,000 career coaching sessions to be conducted by a team of 1,000 Amazon recruiters will be free of charge.
The company is currently seeking 33,000 people for corporate and tech roles and claims that it will share "thousands of additional hourly roles in Amazon's Operations network" soon. Those who will be hired for these roles will be compensated at least minimum wage at $15 per hour with up to 20 weeks of parental leave.
An Amazon spokesperson said job seekers who be hired for the corporate and tech roles will receive an average pay of $150,000, including salary, stock-based compensation and benefits.
The firm said: "With many people left unemployed by the economic impact of Covid-19 and searching for new jobs, Career Day is designed to support all job seekers, regardless of their level of experience, professional field, or background -- or whether they are looking for a job at Amazon or another company."
Amazon announced in August that it is planning to hire 3,500 additional workers across US cities as well as opening a new grocery store filled with smart devices.
The company is also reportedly in talks with US mall owner Simon Property Group to convert former or current JCPenney and Sears stores into distribution hubs to deliver packages.
