Blog: Sophie Klossner, HDI Membership & Local Chapter Director
Special thanks to Robert Half on producing and sharing this Professional Employment Report, Q3 2010
I love getting good news! It brightens my day, lifts my spirits and makes everything else in my day go better. On Thursday, July 15, I received a copy of the Robert Half Professional Employment Report for Q3 2010 and found some wonderful, uplifting news regarding the employment front. I want to thank Robert Half for sending me this information and would like to share some of the statistics that Robert Half provided in this report.
This blog is taken directly from this report, again produced and delivered by Robert Half:
“The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is the first quarterly hiring survey of its size and scope to focus exclusively on professional-level hiring. The results are based on telephone interviews with more than 4,000 executives throughout the United States to determine their hiring plans for the upcoming quarter. Among those surveyed are CFOs, CIOs, senior human resources managers, attorneys, and advertising and marketing executives. The survey also measures executives’ confidence in their companies’ prospects for growth in the third quarter of 2010. Robert Half has been reporting employment data through its Hiring Index program since 1992.
Key Findings:
- A net 3% of executives plan to increase hiring in professional occupations in the third quarter of 2010
- Executives in the transportation industry plan the greatest hiring activity, with a net 12% anticipating adding professional staff
- The New England and West South Central regions of the United States showed the most promise, with a net 10% and 6%, respectively, of executives in these areas planning to add personnel.
- The legal field – law firms, in particular – is expected to see the strongest hiring activity, with a net 31% of lawyers interviewed expecting to increase staff levels
- More than 4 in 10 executives (42%) said it is challenging to find skilled professionals today, up five points from the previous quarter.
- A majority (85%) of executives interviewed expressed confidence in their companies’ prospects for business growth in the third quarter
Top states for professional-level hiring:
- Massachusetts (+14%)
- Texas (+8%)
- Tennessee (+7%)
- Florida (+5%)
- Minnesota (+4%)
- Arizona (+3%)
- Connecticut (+3%)
- New York (+3%)
Top 5 industries for professional-level hiring:
- Transportation (+12%)
- Business services (+9%)
- Retail (7%)
- Manufacturing (+6%)
- Wholesale (+5%)
Hiring Trends – Technology:
As economic conditions slowly improve, IT executives see their departments playing a key role in the growth plans of their companies. They are seeking skilled professionals to help them restart systems implementation projects put on hold during the recession.
According to the survey, confidence in company growth prospects remain high among IT executives, with 82% of CIOs polled expressing optimism about their organizations’ ability to expand in the next three months.
In Technology, the top industries hiring:
- Business Services (+16%)
- Construction (+16%)
- Wholesale (+12%)
Top IT positions in demand:
- Network administrator: those versed in cloud computing, VoIP and SaaS are particularly in demand
- Applications developer and web developer: Professionals well-versed in interactive web functionality and social media are in especially high demand
- Help desk and desktop support: When growth and sales pick up, demand for support staff may quickly accelerate. Some firms are relying on project professionals to meet current support needs.”
These are some highlights from this report that hit me as profound! To read the full report, which has some powerful statistics and information, check it out at: www.roberthalf.us/per Also, you can find Robert Half on Twitter at #roberthalf
Great stuff!
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