A new survey finds that nearly half of workers who were laid off in the last three months have found new jobs.

The CareerBuilder Survey shows that 48% of workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last three months have found new full-time positions, which is up from 41% in March; 3% found part-time positions, which is down from 8% in the previous survey.

“Despite a challenging job market, workers have been able to find employment opportunities in a variety of fields,” said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. “Even though the number of workers who took part-time positions is tracking below last quarter, the number who found full-time jobs is notably higher.  This is a positive indication that more workers who were laid off from full-time jobs were able to replace them with new full-time positions instead of taking part-time work as an interim measure to generate income.  Part of this job search success is related to workers expanding career options to new industries and locations.”

Changes in Pay
According to survey results, of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new jobs, 56% reported they were able to negotiate comparable or higher pay for their new positions; 44% of workers took a pay cut, down from 49% in March.

Transferring Skills to Other Industries and Fields
Similar to the last survey, 38% of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and landed new jobs said they found work in a different field than where they were previously employed.

Relocation
Survey results show that 20% of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found jobs relocated to a new city or state; up from 13% percent in March. Of those who are still looking for employment, 44% reported they would consider relocating for a job opportunity; up from 39% in March.

Starting a Business
The survey found that 29% of workers who have not found jobs are considering starting their own business; up slightly from 25% in March.

Altering Appearance
According to survey results, the competition for a smaller number of jobs is driving some workers to alter their everyday appearances in hopes of making a stronger impression. Twenty-eight percent of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months said they have changed their appearance to make themselves more attractive to potential employers; 14% said they have lost weight, 8% have changed their hair color or hairstyle and 5% are dressing to appear younger. Teeth whitening, enhanced makeup and cosmetic procedures were also cited.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 921 U.S. workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last 12 months ages 18 and over between May 22 and June 10, 2009 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 921, one could say with a 95% probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-3.23 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.