• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 27, 2024

Some email marketers may be worried about losing their jobs. But they are probably not suffering the highest levels of anxiety, judging by a study from Authority Hacker. 

IT people are increasingly troubled about possible job loss, which is no surprise given the massive layoffs at some tech companies. They are followed by employees in software development and advertising. And, yes, there is a certain level of fear in marketing and sales and publishing.

But it depends on the salary level and title. Those at the top are so concerned that it is a wonder they can function at all. 

For instance, 79.31% of executives at the C suite or senior management levels are fretting more about their job stability, compared to 65.65% of management staff, 48.82% of non-management staff and 45.80% of administrative staff. 

Within that top echelon, 85% at the C level fear getting sacked, versus 78.38% of directors. 

Those totals are well above the general average of 55%. 

Younger people in the 24-44 age cohort are more worried than older workers about suddenly being unemployed. And college graduates feel more vulnerable than those without higher education. 

But industry vertical may be the biggest indicator. Based on a recent survey of 1,200 employees across industry sectors, here are the percentages of workers concerned about job security:

• IT-Services & Data — 89.66%
• Software Development — 74.42%
• Advertising — 70%
• Finance and Insurance — 67.56%
• Human Resources — 64.29%
• Agriculture, Fishing, Or Hunting — 60%
• Marketing/Sales — 58.17%
• Construction — 57.97%
• Publishing — 57.14%
• Education — 56.96%
• Government — 54.17%
• Automotive — 57.64%
• Shipping — 51.73%
• Wholesale — 51.51%
• Retail — 49.45%
• Real Estate, Rental or Leasing — 48.48%
• Other — 48.28%
• Arts & Entertainment — 47.50%
• Health Care & Social — 47.47%
• Manufacturing — 46.76%
• Consulting — 43.48%
• Hotel & Food Services — 43.31%
• Personal Services — 42.93%
• Transportation & Warehousing — 41.35%
• Fashion/Apparel — 30%

Full-time email specialists fall into the marketing bucket. But many are freelancers and others are self-employed consultants. Of course, they probably keep a wary eye on what is happening with senior marketing managers. 

Perhaps more scary is that 42% of employees lack the savings they’d need to survive until they find a new job. 

As for salary, here are the levels of concern:

• 150k & above — 72.48%
• 100k to 150k — 62.9%
• 50k to 100k — 51.51%
• Up to 50k — 50.28%

In another grim finding, 54.58% feel that AI will impact their security within the next five years, especially those in software (67.44%), finance (67.57%) and human resources (64.29%).

Something more to worry about.