“Looking for a job is a full-time job”

“Looking for a job is a full-time job” (or, “Looking for work is a full-time job”) is a saying suggesting that a job search can be very diificult. The saying appears to date from the 1970s and remains popular in times of high unemployment.
 
     
Google News Archive
10 August 1975, Boca Raton (FL) News, “Jobless get more bad news” by Herb Greenberg, pg. 1C, col. 4:
Finding a job is a full-time job in itself, to be pursued with energy and resolution.
 
14 August 1977, New York (NY) Times, “What to Do if the Ax Falls”:
“Looking for a job is a full-time job;’ explains E. Donald Davis, president of the Thinc Career Planning Corporation.
         
Google Books
Black folks’ guide to making big money in America
By George Subira
Newark, NJ: Very Serious Business Enterprises
1982, ©1980
Pg. 81:
Looking for a job is a full time job.
 
Google Books
The Handbook of Private Television:
A complete guide for video facilities and networks within corporations, nonprofit institutions, and government agencies
By Nathan J, Sambul
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
1982
Pg. 28-1:
Seeking a job is a full-time job.
 
Google News Archive
18 June 1982, Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review, “There are jobs for youths with hustle and the right approach” by Brenda Tabor, pg. 13, col. 6:
Finding a job is a full-time job, Brooks said.
 
Google Books
Letting Go:
A parents’ guide to today’s college experience
By Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
Bethesda, MD: Adler & Adler
1988
Pg. 274:
As all the career literature suggests, looking for a job is a full-time job.
 
18 February 1991, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads, VA), pg. A1:
NO HELP WANTED: FINDING WORK IS A FULL-TIME JOB
By Philip Walzer
   
3 May 1991, Providence (RI) Journal, pg. B1:
For many, hunt for work is a full-time job
By James M. O’Neill
   
Google Books
50 ways to get hired
By Max Messmer
New York, NY: William Morrow
1994
Pg. 24:
IT HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE BUT IT BEARS REPEATING: Looking for a job is a full-time job.
   
Google Books
Career Quest for College Graduates:
Developing a Successful Career by Leveraging Each of Your Jobs
By Robert T. Uda
New York, NY: IUniverse
2005
Pg. 11:
Looking for a full-time job is a full-time job.
   
Fortify Your Oasis
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Finding a job is a full-time job
I don’t know who coined that old saw but nowadays, it is truer than ever.
       
New York (NY) Daily News
Job-hunter’s story brings new lead about open position
BY Lore Croghan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 23rd 2010, 10:25 AM
(...)
“Be persistent,” Delsman advised. “Remember that looking for a job is a full-time job.”
 
Ottawa Citizen
On Labour Day weekend, a timely tale about lost work, found hope…and everything in between
By David Sherman
September 6, 2010
(...)
“Looking for a job is a full-time job,” was the credo.
 
Appolocious
Indeed Job Search does the work of finding work
Posted September 16, 2010 5:21am by Ian Black
The old saying goes: Looking for a job is a full-time job.