Why some workers are stuck struggling in job-market limbo

The current wave of layoffs has left swaths of employees out of work. But workers in some job functions may be facing a particularly uncertain future. Wide-scale layoffs throughout the past year have touched many job functions across industries. But workers in certain careers have particularly felt the impacts. As firms have slashed their marketing and publicity budgets, and frozen hiring, the employees performing these job functions have found themselves axed in high numbers, particularly in tech. But not only are many of these workers out of a position in the short-term, experts say they may also face longer-term job-market uncertainty, as organisations more broadly pull back on the resources that support these roles. For workers hit hardest by the recent waves of layoffs, a new full-time role may not be imminent. In a cooling labour market – especially in their job functions – their options are either to apply for as many vacancies as possible, take on any available freelance work, reskill and career switch or simply ride out the job-market limbo for as long as they can. ‘One of the hardest times in my career’ Christine was one of thousands of recruiters let go by a Big Tech firm in early 2023. Based in San Francisco, her organisation announced a hiring freeze – and that meant the team she led was cut. ‘We went so long hearing rumours that it was shocking, but not that shocking,’ she says.  Following her redundancy, Christine decided to take a break and didn’t begin job searching until April. ‘I was burnt out – I needed time for myself,’ she explains. ‘We were on a hiring spree through the pandemic, and it was exhausting. And I wanted to ride out the downturn somewhat: there were so many layoffs across the sector that I knew there was little point diving back in right away.’ Since then, however, as Christine began her job search in earnest, she’s had difficulties finding a new full-time role in a depressed market. ‘I’ve had to change my perspective on where I work next,’ she says. ‘Rather than a high-profile company, I’m looking more towards start-ups. But I stopped applying for jobs after a while: I was just getting one rejection after another.’ At the peak of Christine’s job search, she sent five applications and received two rejections every day. She says there has been a dearth of recruiting roles, especially at the management level. ‘I was applying for individual contributor roles, and the response was that I was  overqualified . After a while, I stopped reading the rejection emails – it felt like a waste of time.’ In the immediate, this is problematic for workers who need to earn an income, especially as the cost of living rises. However, says Connie Wanberg, professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, US, these workers also face greater overall career insecurity : layoffs mean that alongside increased competition for roles, there is a weaker demand for their services in the labour market. This is particularly the case for recruiters, she says – as organisations pause hiring or cut jobs, there is subsequently less need for talent resources. Additionally, even if these workers do find a new position, in an uncertain economy, there’s no guarantee an employee will land a job as good as the last. ‘Those that end up in roles with a worse wage, commute or workplace culture, can mean they end up simply continuing their job search for the foreseeable future.’ Along with practical struggles, Wanberg says all this adds up to the reality that these workers may also have ‘higher risk of lower wellbeing over the longer term’. And although most laid-off workers recover from the psychological trauma and anxiety of losing their job, she says, their progress depends on their longer-term moves. In a cooling labour market, job seekers can either apply for vacancies, re-skill or try ride out the job-market limbo for as long as they can (Credit: Getty Images) ‘My redundancy became a springboard to change my working life’ As a result of these labour-market conditions, many of these workers in job limbo have had to change their plans for securing another full-time role. Rather than spend her days researching and applying for recruiting roles, Christine, in her 40s, decided to pause and pivot: alongside securing freelance contracts, she began taking commissions for her artwork side hustle. ‘Former colleagues were applying for a hundred jobs and not getting interviews unless they knew someone there, so I thought, ‘Why bother?’. I preferred being able to paint and making money for my work, instead of just playing the numbers game, applying to as many vacancies as possible.’ Similarly, 38-year-old May, based in the UK, was in her London-based PR and communications management role at a tech company for more than 10 years when she was made redundant in February. She’d been laid off due to budget cuts, following the 2022 tech slowdown. ‘I was mentally prepared for the news,’ she explains.  Rather than look for a new full-time role right away, May also opted out of the job-search hustle, turning freelance instead. ‘I’d been in full-time employment my whole career, so I was ready for change and to try something different than being an employee again,’ she says. ‘The idea had been on my mind a while before I heard about the redundancy. But I took it as the push I needed: I had enough savings that I could give it a go.’ Over the intervening months, May has begun restructuring her workday, steadily accumulating a variety of clients as she begins her own venture. She adds that the broader market slowdown hasn’t affected her work too much – she gets commissions from professional contacts and friends of friends. May says she’s embraced her job-market uncertainty: after 15 years of full-time employment, her redundancy afforded her the opportunity to rethink her career and recalibrate her work-life balance. ‘I knew there might not be many other chances in my career to begin my own venture. My redundancy became a springboard to change my working life.’ Wanberg adds that taking a break – like May and Christine have both done – is common among laid-off workers. She says it can offer benefits, particularly in a turbulent labour market. ‘Job searching in general lowers mental health because it’s a discouraging process: you get many rejections and can begin doubting yourself. Conversely, taking a break not only improves mental health – people tend to end up in roles they’re happier with because they’ve spent more time thinking about what they want next.’ ‘I’ve never had so much trouble finding a job’ Going forward, there may not be an abundance of opportunities – or at least not enough – for every worker in certain job functions to secure another full-time role. ‘The reality is that the greatest number of job openings exist in blue-collar industries like manual labour ,’ says Wanberg. ‘We now have sections of the economy where there are severe talent shortages , and others where there are talent gluts.’ In the past fortnight, Christine has noticed an upturn in job openings. But although she’s currently interviewing for a recruiting role, she says she’s still struggling. ‘It’s been one of the hardest times in my career,’ she says. ‘I’ve never had so much trouble finding a job.’ For now, taking a different approach to employment may be one of the only alternatives for these workers left in purgatory. May says she’s content freelancing for now. For Christine, she anticipates returning to full-time employment soon as some companies slowly add new roles – but with a different mindset. ‘I’ll probably move forward with more cynicism,’ she says. ‘I’ve never been one to drink the corporate Kool-Aid too hard, but I just now consider this as par for the course: it may affect my trust in an employer going forward.’  Both Christine and May are withholding their surname for career concerns ;