Hiring plans are up, but so are layoffs
"The index we watch most closely, the one that measures new hiring plans, is crawling back up, so we are definitely moving in the right direction," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a leading US-based digital and direct marketing recruiting firm. "At the same time, though, many digital and direct marketers continue to face strong economic headwinds, and some are being forced to consider more layoffs and hiring freezes to get headcount to where it needs to be for 2011."
The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates' Quarter 4 (Q4) survey:
- 41% of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q4, up from 39% last quarter.
- 35% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, up from 23% in Q3.
- The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q4 rose to 8%, compared with 6% last quarter.
- Most of the new hiring is coming from business-to-business (B-to-B) service providers, with nearly one-half of those respondents reporting plans to add to staff during Q4.
"This will be the third straight quarter in which planned B-to-B hiring has outpaced B2C," Bernhart said.
Marketing-related positions will be in greatest demand for the remainder of 2010
Bernhart also noted that since results are not seasonally adjusted, it's not unusual to see a spike in hiring freezes as the year draws to a close. "A lot of companies have completed their hiring for 2010, and will re-assess their needs come the new year."
Among those companies planning to add to staff, marketing-related positions will be in greatest demand for the remainder of 2010, followed by I.T. "In fact, the marketing and technical job categories far outnumbered positions in analytics, account management, and sales, which in recent years have consistently been at or near the top of this list," Bernhart pointed out.
Bernhart added that the importance of data reveals itself in the titles of two soon-to-be-filled positions, each of them called simply "Data Expert."
Now in its tenth year, the Bernhart Associates' hiring survey was emailed to more than 10 000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 369 organisations responded to the widely followed quarterly employment-trends survey between 23 September and 4October 2010.
Direct marketing advertising expenditures' contribution
According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.
Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association's annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC's website.
Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates' quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to moc.trahnreb@yevrus with "Opt-In" in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates' website.
About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC
Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and nationally recognised digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker. Founded in 1991, Bernhart Associates today recruits for positions at all levels in multi-channel direct marketing, CRM, e-commerce, database marketing, business development, and marketing analytics.
The Bernhart Associates' quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Survey, now in its 10th year, is claimed to have become the most widely followed employment report in digital and direct marketing and measures employers' hiring plans for the coming quarter. It is claimed to be the only forward-looking employment survey of its kind in digital and direct marketing and unparalleled in size and scope.
For more information go to www.bernhart.com.
