boss knows about job search?

A reader writes:

My fiance is sure that his boss knows that he's looking for a new job. He applied to another company and his boss had a "casual" conversation with him about how young people in their industry worry about money too much and look for jobs with only that as a concern. He also assured him that they were working on the profit-sharing (that they've been working on for well over 2 years). The next day, they were discussing a trade magazine and the boss once again blankly said, "I used to look for jobs in there." I guess there's nothing he can really do other than keep on looking for a new job, right? I wish I could say that they couldn't fire him for applying to another job...

Well, if his boss does know he's looking, it sounds like he's trying to subtly talk him into staying on board, rather than gearing up to penalize him for searching. So yes, I'd say he should just keep on looking, being as discreet as possible -- but he should feel reassured by the fact that his boss seems to be encouraging him to be patient rather than taking issue with him looking.