The Five O'Clock Club recently surveyed employed and unemployed job seekers to explore the causes of job-search stress.

While one might expect unemployed job seekers to have the highest levels of stress, this was not always the case. Key findings included:

* Unemployed and employed job hunters have almost the same level of stress

* Far more men than women are concerned with loss of self-esteem

* Job hunters that describe themselves as middle management have the highest levels of stress

* Stress level dramatically increases at the six-month mark of a job search

* Women are stressed at the beginning of the search, while men are the most stressed at the end, such as when waiting for an offer

* The good news: 96 percent managed to reduce or control their stress using various techniques, such as job-search support groups

The Five O'Clock Club is the only career program in the United States and Canada where members meet with professional counselors and peers on a regular, weekly basis in a friendly, club-type format. The organization is led by CEO Richard Bayer, Ph.D., an economist, ethicist and author on labor economics. For more information visit, www.FiveOClockClub.com.