If you’ve been struggling through the past few years with this tough economy, there may be good news on the horizon. CareerBuilder.com has released the results of a new study that suggest the second quarter of 2012 will return us to at least the hiring rates of 2007.
Supposedly, these are pre-recession levels. I thought we were in recession long before that, but regardless, we are experiencing a jump in hiring. In fact, 30% of employers plan on adding new full time members. So many of us can once again get comfortable spending hours on the computer filling out tedious resumes.
Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder comments on the growing hiring trend:
“We have moved from an anemic job market to one that is stable and growing,”
“While still cautious, employers are feeling better about the state of the U.S. economy and the debt situation in Europe. Forty-one percent of companies reported their sales have increased over the last six months, which is helping to fuel greater confidence in hiring. The amount of job listings we’re seeing for key categories on CareerBuilder.com are similar to that of 2007. All indicators point to steady improvement in the job market in the second quarter and beyond.”
Also good new for experienced professional seeking employment, more candidates are turning job offers down and forcing employers to compete for talent. I like it! there’s a lot of highly-skilled people out there, and it’s good to see them in demand.
Also, a lot of candidates are accepting positions with companies that act faster to hire them. 22% said they chose one job over another due to long wait times hearing back from employers after interviews. I like this even more! I realize organization have to do a good job screening candidates, but come on? Start closing the gap on those hiring windows. Some people rely on a paycheck to earn a living. Many employees have loyalty to those who hire them and aren’t willing to jump ship just because a better offer comes along two weeks later.
Still, a small percentage plan to downsize their workforce this coming quarter, about 6%. Well over half the companies have no plans for growth whatsoever, but this could be a reality in any economy. Growth is not always an indicator of a healthy organization or economy. Overall, businesses of all shapes and sizes have plans for hiring in the coming months.
Here are some stats from Career Builder’s survey, the numbers are taken from 2300 hiring manager’s responses across a variety of fields:
* 50 or fewer employees – 20 percent plan to add full-time, permanent staff in Q2, up from 17 percent last year; those reducing headcount increased slightly to 5 percent in 2012 from 4 percent last year.
* 250 or fewer employees – 22 percent plan to add full-time, permanent staff in Q2, up from 20 percent last year; those reducing headcount remained at 5 percent.
* 500 or fewer employees – 25 percent plan to add full-time, permanent staff in Q2, up from 22 percent last year; those reducing headcount remained at 5 percent.
* More than 500 employees – 38 percent plan to add full-time, permanent staff in Q2, up from 35 percent last year; those reducing headcount remained at 7 percent.
Something else worth mentioning about talent and the unemployment numbers is the struggle for employers to find qualified people. Believe it or not, many talent scouts are failing to find qualified candidates to fill vital positions. Almost one third of employers have jobs like this which aren’t being filled in a satisfactory manner. Can you say opportunity?
Ferguson comments on the phenomenon:
“One of the major challenges the U.S. faces is being able to align the skill sets of the labor force with positions that are in high demand,”
“There is a growing gap between high-skill job openings and available talent that has a larger impact on overall employment. Fifteen percent of employers reported that, because they can’t fill high-skill positions within their organizations, they’re not able to create lower-skilled positions that are tied to these roles.”
In any event, this should be some good news for many people. I like to see when qualified candidates gain some leverage in their respective fields and are presented with a number of options for employment. Many of us have invested a great deal in our education and experience, and that hasn’t been paying off very well in the last couple of years. Hopefully there’s change on the horizon.
