Nearly half of respondents believed the stagnant labor market is the state’s most pressing problem and many people plan to learn more skills to better adjust to the uncertain situation, a study released on Wednesday by Harris/Decima said.

The data, which was sponsored by Everest College in the 2nd Annual California Labor Day Survey, found that 41 percent of respondents believe the job environment is California’s top economic issue, followed by the state’s financial crisis (29 percent).

The result was in sharp contrast and a complete reversal to 2009, when the top concern was the financial crisis (43 percent), followed by the employment picture (27 percent).

“The state’s unemployment rate is the third highest in the nation and easily the most important economic issue for Californians right now,” said John Andrews, regional vice president of operations at Everest College. “However, as the study indicates, Californians continue to be proactive in the face of job uncertainty, with many considering skills training or other educational avenues to improve their employment opportunities.”

With the state’s unemployment rate perched at 12.3 percent in July, the study found that more Californians in 2010 have considered various options to deal with the sluggish job market when compared with 2009. Specifically, 37 percent of employed Californians have considered returning to school to enhance their career compared with 28 percent in 2009, and 36 percent have contemplated a new career to make more money versus 28 percent the previous year.

For example, as of June 30, 2010, enrollment at Everest’s California campuses rose 22 percent during a two-year period, in large part due to the popularity of Everest’s healthcare programs, which includes medical assisting, recently named by Forbes magazine as one of the fastest growing jobs for women in 2010.

The survey found that 53 percent of Californians are experiencing heavier workloads and half of the respondents have less job security than they did two years ago. Including commute time, 41 percent of employed Californians say they work more than 10 hours every day. And 39 percent said they have less time for family and friends due to longer working hours, which has risen from 2009′s 35 percent.

Among those Californians who are employed by an employer, one in four think they will be laid off in the next 12 months and more than a third (36 percent) expect to lose some or all benefits during the same time period. Respondents with less than a high school education were more concerned about their employment future compared to those with vocational or technical college, the survey found, with 57 percent said they have less job security than two years ago (37 percent).

This data was gathered by Harris/Decima through telephone interviews between July 15th and July 24th, 2010. A total of 600 Californians — 470 employed and 130 unemployed — were surveyed.

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