Survey: Managers anticipate hiring surge
Job outlook appears bright for upcoming quarter
By Matt Ferguson
CEO, CareerBuilder.com
Editor's Note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.
Back by popular demand, job creation in the United States is taking an aggressive stance that is expected to carry over into the upcoming quarter.
Leading indicators for market growth are signaling an upward shift in economic performance.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the country has created nearly 400,000 jobs so far this year, rounding up 21 months of consecutive employment gains. This, paired with increased investment in business infrastructure and new products, has U.S. economists raising their forecasts for growth in the first half of 2005.
Morgan Stanley recently revised its estimate for real gross domestic product in the first quarter to 4.4 percent, a jump from the 3.3 percent figure projected earlier.
Businesses are taking the reins in driving the economy forward and instilling greater confidence in the recruitment outlook.
CareerBuilder.com's "Q2 2005 Job Forecast" shows that hiring managers nationwide are anticipating a surge in hiring in the next three months. Of the more than 600 hiring managers primarily operating in service industries that were surveyed:
69 percent plan to increase their staffs in the second quarter -- up from the 45 percent who said they would increase staffs in the first quarter.One in five expect to add more than 50 workers.Seven percent anticipate a decrease in head count Not only are hiring managers stepping up department expansions, they are doing so quickly. Although three in 10 hiring managers say it is difficult to find good candidates, 62 percent are filling their open positions within one month, and 32 percent are reporting a more accelerated time frame of less than two weeks, the survey found.
Top job markets
The positions being targeted in the second quarter include a mix of industries, functions and titles. Health care continues to be a recession-proof industry, struggling to balance an annual addition of more than 300,000 jobs with a shortage of qualified workers. New corporate governance standards are pushing the need for more accounting and finance employees, as witnessed in the 26 percent increase in this category over the last three months on CareerBuilder.com.
A weaker dollar is boosting demand overseas for U.S. products, resulting in a 20,000 uptick in manufacturing jobs in February. In addition, sales, engineering, retail, hospitality and information technology are also areas to watch.
In terms of job level, recruitment for more advanced positions is picking up. According to ExecuNet's Recruiters Confidence Index, 75 percent of executive recruiters are confident the executive employment market will improve in the next six months.
Hiring managers are in agreement, with one in 10 planning to recruit managers, directors, team leaders and senior executives in the second quarter, according to CareerBuilder.com's survey. Three in 10 are looking for candidates for professional and technical positions.
Hiring by region
Comparing regions, the South is leading in the number of hiring managers expecting to increase their staffs in the second quarter, at 75 percent, with the Midwest tracking behind all regions at 64 percent, the survey said. Seventy-one percent in the Northeast anticipate a bump in staff levels, as do 68 percent in the West.
Of those decreasing staffs, the Northeast is the least likely, at 4 percent, while the Midwest is the mostly likely, at 12 percent.
The South and West fell in between at 7 percent and 8 percent, respectively.
Job changes by region
With more jobs available, unemployed and dissatisfied workers are hitting the pavement in full force. ComScore Media Metrix reported that 94 million unique visitors searched for job information online in January and February, and CareerBuilder.com's latest survey shows that one in 10 workers plan to change jobs as early as the second quarter.
One in five workers say they are unhappy with their jobs overall, with increased dissatisfaction in career advancement, development/learning and work/life balance, the survey found.
In addition to having the highest amount of dissatisfied workers, the Northeast also houses the highest amount of workers planning to change jobs in the second quarter, at 13 percent.
This figure compares with 12 percent in the South and 10 percent in the Midwest. The West is reporting the largest decline in workers expecting to leave their jobs, from 15 percent to 9 percent.
Job changes by field
Comparing select industries and job functions, hospitality workers are the most likely to look for new employment opportunities in the second quarter, and government workers are the least likely, the survey said.
Hospitality: 20 percentSales: 13 percentAccounting/finance: 12 percentInformation technology: 11 percentRetail: 10 percentHealth care: 9 percentGovernment: 5 percent CareerBuilder.com's "Q2 2005 Job Forecast" was conducted from February 24 to March 3. Methodology used to collect survey responses of more than 1,700 workers involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members. These members were approached via e-mail, asking them to participate in an online survey. The results are statistically accurate to within plus or minus 2.36 percentage points (19 times out of 20). The sample included more than 600 hiring managers. The results for the hiring managers alone are statistically accurate to within plus or minus 3.89 percentage points (19 times out of 20).
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