A new survey details workers’ plans for the new year when it comes to Tampa jobs.

According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than one in five workers (22 percent) are planning to change jobs in 2017, similar to last year (21 percent). Among younger workers, the numbers are even higher. More than a third of workers ages 18 to 34 (35 percent) expect to change jobs in 2017, compared to 30 percent last year. This compares to 15 percent of workers ages 35 and older.

The national survey — conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 16 to December 6, 2016, and included a representative sample of 3,411 workers across industries — found 35 percent of workers are regularly searching for new job opportunities, even though they’re currently employed — a one-point increase since last year (34 percent).

Aside from finding a new job, the top New Year’s resolutions that workers say they’re making for the office this year are:

• Save more of my pay: 49 percent (vs. 38 percent last year)
• Be less stressed: 38 percent (vs. 28 percent last year)
• Get a raise or promotion: 30 percent (vs. 26 percent last year)
• Eat healthier at work: 28 percent (vs. 19 percent last year)
• Learn something new (take more courses, training, seminars): 26 percent (vs. 17 percent last year)

When asked what extra perks would make them more willing to join or stay with a company, the most popular choices workers pointed to include:

• Half-day Fridays: 40 percent
• On-site fitness center: 27 percent
• Being able to wear jeans: 23 percent
• Daily catered lunches: 22 percent
• My own office: 22 percent

The number of retail jobs in Tampa may have fallen, according to a recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Despite large-scale hiring announcements from numerous major retailers, the number of October employment gains in the sector declined 21 percent from a year ago to 154,600. That was the fewest job gains to kick off the holiday hiring season since 2012, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This year’s decline follows two consecutive years of record job gains in October. In 2015, BLS data show that retail employment grew by 194,800, which represents the largest number of October job gains for the sector on record. That bested the previous record, set the year before, when retailers added 182,800 new workers in October.

It is worth noting that record October job gains in 2014 and 2015 did not lead to record retail hiring throughout the holiday season. In fact, both years saw overall holiday hiring decline. In all, 749,100 retail job were added in the final three months of 2014, which was 5 percent fewer than 2013. Last year, the number of retail jobs added fell another 1.4 percent to 738,800.

“The shrinking number of jobs added during the holiday season does not necessarily mean that the retail industry is shrinking. As of October, there were 15,994,000 Americans employed in this sector. That is up from 15,759,000 a year ago and represents the highest October employment level ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“A few trends could be contributing to the fall off in holiday hiring. First, stronger hiring throughout the year and advances in retail technology may mean that stores do not have to hire as many extra workers during the busy holiday shopping season. Secondly, increased online shopping could be shifting the holiday job gains away from retailers toward warehousing, fulfillment, and transportation operations,” Challenger added.

Some employers may not be conducting background checks for Fayetteville jobs, according to a Careerbuilder study.

According to the study, 75 percent of employers said they have hired the wrong person for a position, and of those who had a bad hire affect their business in the last year, one bad hire costs them nearly $17,000 on average. And while most employers (72 percent) background check every new employee before they are hired, more than 1 in 4 (28 percent) do not.

“If an employee isn’t well-suited for the job or has a bad attitude, the time they spend not working could significantly impact your bottom line. That’s why it’s so important to make sure qualifications are substantiated,” said Ben Goldberg, CEO of Aurico, a CareerBuilder company. “It’s a hard cost to quantify, but it adds up when you consider the loss of employee morale, the additional supervision that employee needs, productivity loss for the organization, revenue that’s not being generated and client relationships that could be turning sour as a result of bad impressions.”

The national study was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from August 11 to September 7, 2016 and included a sample of 2,379 hiring managers and human resources professionals across industries and company sizes in the private sector.

The majority of employers (72 percent) background check every new employee before they’re hired, but more than a quarter (28 percent) don’t at all. Similarly, while many (55 percent) drug test employees, only one in five (20 percent) continue to once an employee has been hired.

“As you are hiring candidates who represent you and act as an extension of your company, accurate and thorough background checks are vital. Especially because the cost of replacing an experienced worker who doesn’t work out can cost a decent amount of that individual’s salary,” Goldberg said.

Those who do background check are analyzing these aspects:

• Criminal background: 82 percent
• Confirm employment: 62 percent
• Confirm identity: 60 percent
• Confirm education: 50 percent
• Check for illegal drug use: 44 percent
• Check licensing: 38 percent
• Credit check: 29 percent

A number of grants are going to help some workers seeking Tampa jobs.

The US Department of Labor will award of more than $111 million in America’s Promise grants to 23 regional workforce partnerships in 28 states to connect more than 21,000 Americans to education and in-demand jobs.

Inspired by President Obama’s America’s College Promise plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students, America’s Promise grants are designed to accelerate the development and expansion of regional workforce partnerships committed to providing a pipeline of skilled workers in specific sectors. Each grant requires a partnership that includes industry leaders, senior level leadership from workforce and economic development organizations, secondary and post-secondary education institutions, elected officials, and other important community stakeholders. Grantees will focus on in-demand industries such as information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services and educational services.

“These grants are part of the Obama administration’s unprecedented investment in education and training programs that have helped to create more pathways to the middle class for millions of Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “By encouraging regional collaboration and delivering on the promise of tuition-free training at community colleges, these grants will help strengthen local communities across America, and ensure that employees and employers alike are able to compete and thrive in today’s global economy.”

Grantees will focus their activities on four key priorities:

• Increasing opportunities for all Americans through tuition-free training for middle-to high-skilled occupations and industries.
• Expanding employer involvement in the design and delivery of education and training programs.
• Utilizing evidence-based sector strategies to increase college completion, employability, employment earnings and outcomes of job seekers.
• Leveraging additional public, private and foundation resources to scale and sustain proven strategies.

Each four-year grant will support tuition-free education and training that prepares participants for jobs in industries that currently utilize the H-1B temporary visa program to meet industry workforce needs. Grantees will use individual assessments to determine the best strategies to successfully move participants into middle- to high-skilled jobs including accelerated training, longer-term intensive training and upskilling current employees to meet the demands of higher skilled jobs.