Staffing Forecast for the 2nd Half of 2012 is Sunny

  

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By: Jessica Sanfratello

Although job recovery has been lagging from the recession, results from a recent CareerBuilder survey reveal that the job forecast for the latter half of 2012 shows significant improvement. Job creation is picking up across the country, with the percentage of respondents reporting higher optimism (in relation to the same poll done last year) rising in the Northeast, West, South and Midwest.

Survey: CareerBuilder’s Mid-Year Job Forecast

Surveying Organization: This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder within the United States. 2,298 US hiring managers and human resource professionals and 2,892 US workers (employer full-time, not self-employed, non-government) ages 18 and over were surveyed between May 12 and June 4, 2012.

Core Findings:

Employers will be adding a new mix of employees over the next six months, with increases in all areas from last year:

• 44 percent of respondents stated intentions to hire more full-time, permanent employees, up from 35 percent in 2011
• 21 percent of respondents stated intentions to hire more Part-time employees, up from 15 percent in 2011
• 21 percent of respondents stated intentions to hire more contract or temporary employees, up from 12 percent in 2011

The top areas for which businesses plan to hire first are those which most directly impact innovation and revenue. Therefore, 22 percent of employers are looking to hire additional Information Technology professionals, the highest proportion behind customer service. Since employers are trying to respond to evolving business demands, some have even created entirely new job positions within their company. Positions tied to social media rank #1 for new hires with 16 percent of employers hiring new candidates for these roles. 12 percent of employers have created positions dedicated to cyber security. Five years ago, these functional areas did not exist in these firms.

According to Matt Ferguson, CEO of Career Builder, “Two years ago, the hiring activity in the U.S. was driven primarily by large employers recruiting in metropolitan areas for a handful of industries or job functions. Today, we see job listings in all industries, market sizes and company sizes. The outlook for the remainder of the year is better than 2011, but it will follow the same pattern of steady progress rather than a surge in job growth. Employers will remain careful as they assess barriers and opportunities for growth in the economy and their own businesses.”

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This optimism is also affecting workers and candidates. Because workers are feeling more confident about job prospects, 1 in 4 employees say that they are likely to leave their current jobs within the next 12 months. This statistic is up 26 percent from last year.

Bottom-line: From July 1^st to December 31^st 2012, 44 percent of private sector employers are planning to hire, up 9 percent from the same period last year. The facts alone show that now is a great time to apply for a job. Since more employers are hiring now than in the past, job opportunities are open and employers are keeping an eye out for top talent – especially for those with skill sets involving technology and service. This is important information for candidates as well as recruiters, to keep in mind.

Infusive Solutions Inc. is a niche technical recruiting firm within the Microsoft Partner Network dedicated to serving the workforce needs of our clients as well as taking our candidate’s careers to the next level. Join is on Twitter and Facebook.