Countercyclical Market Segments Are Hiring

The Career News (sorry, no link) references an article regarding job market growth in 3 specific sectors (my bold): While hiring in the financial and consumer discretionary sectors has clearly been impacted by the continued fall-out from the mortgage market collapse, the technology, healthcare and defense sectors are all adding to their executive-level ranks nationwide. There were 12,000 more $100,000+ jobs posted on TheLadders in the first quarter of 2008 than there were in the first quarter of 2007. The recession is grabbing the headlines, but there are always countercyclical segments of the market that thrive in a down economy. The reports are showing a lot of reliance in this… Read More

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Fourth Quarter Comeback

We have been talking to many of our customers and have seen a consistent trend among our small sample size – Q4 is going to be a good quarter.  Of course, that doesn’t do much for the last few days of this quarter and Q3, but it is a good sign. Now CNNMoney.com has an article that may have a significantly larger sample size: The Business Roundtable is an association of CEOs of major corporations, representing a combined work force of more than 10 million employees and $4.5 trillion in annual revenues. Here is the takeaway from this group (my bold): At the same time, a survey by the Business… Read More

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Top 3 In-Demand Positions

From RecruitingTrends.com (my emphasis): Manpower Inc. releases the results of its third annual talent shortage survey, revealing that 31% of employers globally are finding it increasingly more difficult to fill jobs. The top three candidates most in-demand are skilled manual trades, sales representatives and technicians (technical workers in the areas of production/operations, engineering and maintenance). What would it be if they put a qualifier on finding the right salesperson?  I keep saying this – a strong salesperson is always in demand no matter what the economy is doing.

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Hiring Continues To Expand In 2008

No real surprises from this CNNMoney.com article (emphasis mine): Employers are trimming their hiring plans but still expect to add workers in 2008, according to a survey released Wednesday. Online job search site CareerBuilder.com said its survey of 3,016 hiring managers and human resource professionals in the private sector found that 32 percent of companies plan to increase the number of full-time, permanent employees in the upcoming year. A year ago, 40 percent said they expected to add staff. Slow, steady growth is an ideal situation.  The hiring trend has been on such a torrid pace that finding strong candidates has become an extended process.  I’ve thought for the past… Read More

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2008 Workforce Forecast

The Herman Trend Alert offers up their 2008 forecast in this week’s electronic newsletter.  Since I do not have a link, here is the forecast in it’s entirety: This year, once more, we offer you our full forecast for the coming year: 1. Recruitment in a Tightening Labor Market Even the coming economic slowdown will not completely stop the creation of jobs. Moreover, stimulated by job creation and the fact that skilled workers in many occupations are in short supply, time-to-fill openings will also continue to increase as will the costs. 2. More Employers Turning to Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) In an effort to reduce costs, more large employers will… Read More

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