Despite changing conditions, job seekers remain upbeat about employment opportunities, with 40% characterizing the current job market as strong or very strong, according to the Job Seeker Trends report released today by CompTIA.

The report also found nearly 27% of people across the labor market have actively pursued a new job or career change within the past 90 days.

Among job seekers exploring career change opportunities, four in 10 reported being prompted by a specific factor, while 60% reported a culmination of factors over time. A net 72% of job seekers expressed dissatisfaction with their career trajectory and the need for a change, particularly among millennials.

The report noted despite a slight decrease from the previous year, a large proportion of job seekers plan to transition into a completely new career area (56% compared to 61% last year). However, 86% of job seekers believe most of these fields will require a base level of digital skills literacy.

Top career areas of interest among job seekers include:

• Sales, marketing, retail, real estate: 22%
• Hospitality, food, travel, tourism: 21%
• Healthcare, medical: 20%
• Technology, cybersecurity, data, software: 15%
• Business, financial, accounting, operations: 13%

The report also looked at the top factors job seekers consider when evaluating a job opportunity. These included:

• Higher pay and better benefits: 67%
• Job security and stability: 40%
• Options to work from home or work remotely: 39%
• Better work-life balance and personal well-being: 36%

The report also looked at challenges to career change. These included “red flags” with the hiring manager or teams (43%) and a lack of transparency about pay and benefits during the hiring process (43%). Job seekers also noted challenges with automated application systems, which many employers have adopted, leading to the exclusion of viable candidates due to opaque assessments.

Furthermore, 50% of job seekers considering a transition into the tech workforce believe earning an industry-recognized technical certification will help their chances. Other strategies they intend to deploy include training for in-demand technical skills (46%), developing a career change plan (36%) and seeking career guidance from someone currently working in tech (32%).  

“Putting aside the usual noise of labor market chatter, this latest data confirms the resiliency of job seekers and employers,” CompTIA president and CEO Todd Thibodeaux said. “Employers across every sector of the economy remain hungry for talent, while job seekers are committed to reaching the next rung on the career ladder.”

CompTIA’s report is based on an online survey of 1,003 US adults. It was conducted in May and June.