CareerBuilder.com: Employers Take 'Wait and See' View

CareerBuilder.com has released the results of its latest survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, tracking projected hiring trends for 2009. The survey, titled "2009 Job Forecast," was conducted from Nov. 12 through Dec. 1, 2008 among 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies.

"The job market of 2008 suffered as the U.S. economy weakened and entered into a recession," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "Looking ahead, recruitment levels are expected to be lower in the new year, but employers are not out of the mix completely; instead they're taking 'a wait and see' approach to hiring. Fourteen percent of employers, surveyed by CareerBuilder.com, state they plan to increase full-time, permanent employees and 16 percent plan to decrease in 2009. The remainder of employers say they are unsure or don't plan to make any changes to their headcount in the new year."

Full-time

Fourteen percent of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2009, compared to 32 percent who anticipated increasing headcount in 2008. Sixteen percent plan to decrease staff levels in 2009 while 56 percent expect no change. Thirteen percent are unsure.

Part-time

Eight percent of employers plan to increase their number of part-time employees in 2009, down from 21 percent who expected to do so in 2008. Fourteen percent plan to decrease headcount in 2009, 62 percent expect no change and 15 percent are unsure.

Hiring By Region

Staff expansions are expected to be strongest in the South and West in 2009. Eighteen percent of employers in the South and 14 percent of employers in the West plan to add full-time, permanent employees compared to 13 percent in the Midwest and 11 percent in the Northeast. Employers in the Northeast are projecting one of the largest amounts of staff decreases at 19 percent, followed by 17 percent in the Midwest, 16 percent in the West and 14 percent in the South.

Hiring By Industry

Comparing select industries, job creation in Professional and Business Services and Information Technology is expected to carry into the new year. Twenty-eight percent of IT and 23 percent of Professional and Business Services employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in 2009, followed by 20 percent of employers in Transportation and Utilities, 16 percent in Sales, 14 percent in Healthcare and 13 percent in Financial Services. Retail employers are also planning to expand staffs at 7 percent followed by 5 percent of Hospitality employers.

HIRING AND COMPENSATION IN Q1

Hiring

Seventeen percent of employers say they increased their headcount in the last three months. Twenty-two percent reduced headcount while 60 percent reported no change. One percent were undecided.

In the first quarter of 2009, 16 percent of employers say they plan to add employees. Sixteen percent will decrease headcount while 62 percent anticipate no change and 6 percent are undecided.

Compensation

With a large number of annual salary increases taking place in the first quarter, 56 percent of employers expect to raise compensation levels in the next three months. Forty-three percent estimate the average raise to amount to 3 percent or more while 12 percent anticipate an average raise of 5 percent or more.