How Do Most Americans Find Jobs? Not Online

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 15, 2014) - Traditional offline job-seeking activities like personal networking, walk-ins, career centers and classified ads continue to be the most important way to find positions that pay less than the US median income, according to a study released today by Whale Path, a leading research marketplace. Whale Path's report Do Employers Really Know How To Find Their Talents? also noted an increase in the use of free internet advertising resources like Craigslist to source employees, suggesting a possible disconnect between those offering jobs and those seeking them.

Whale Path researchers reviewed the employment sources for workers looking to fill positions that pay less than the national median income of $50,502 -- a group representing over 80% of total national employment. The report was based on interviews with over 200 agencies and businesses.

Whale Path's research contained surprising findings about job search activity for workers earning less than the United States median income. Examples:

• Only 7% of jobs paying $25 per hour or less are filled through online sources.
• Highlighting the importance of personal networking, referrals are the widely utilized and fastest growing method of offering and sourcing employment, accounting for 46% of hires for positions paying less than the US median income in 2012, up from 41% in 2008.
• Career centers remain an important source of employment assistance because of the skills coaching, job listings and Internet access provided.
• Job fairs are failing to connect low-income job seekers and small businesses, with many companies surveyed noting prohibitive costs prevent active participation.
• Craigslist is an important online source. It was cited by more than half of businesses as a low-cost resource it actively uses finding employees.

The study also reviewed hiring practices in several industries where the majority of jobs paying less than the United States median income. Restaurants, construction, labor and cleaning companies look first for labor on Craigslist, while administrative, insurance and finance hirers most frequently rely on Classified Ads. Retail workers are found most often with postings at State Agencies.

"As the director of one of New England's largest One Stop Career Centers, I can personally attest to the validity of Whale Path's finding that career centers remain a critical job search tool for those at the lower end of the economic spectrum," said Christopher J. Brennan, Executive Director, The Career Place, Woburn, MA. "In a job market where many applicants have limited access to the internet on their own and small employers are often priced out of job fairs, career centers remain a key resource for matching skilled and talented employees with the human resources needs of employers."

Do Employers Really Know How To Find Their Talents? is available for free download at http://www.whalepath.com/reports/jobmarket. More information on this study, Whale Path and its research capabilities is available at http://whalepath.com or by mailing info@whalepath.com.

About Whale Path

Whale Path is reinventing the market for business research. Whale Path's custom research marketplace makes high-quality, custom reports accessible to anyone by automatically matching research requests with Masters and Doctoral candidates from top universities, then passing every report through a rigorous quality control process. Its subscription service offers instant downloads of proprietary research from top academics. Founded in 2012 and based in Mountain View, California, Whale Path's advisors include executives from top companies like Credit Suisse and Fidelity Investments as well as educators from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Learn more at http://whalepath.com.