Confidence In The Executive Employment Market
— Next 6 months Employers Moving More Cautiously on Executive Hiring
Source: ExecuNet
Summary Analysis:
Slower hiring by companies – even when they have vacant leadership roles – has dampened executive recruiters' confidence in overall management hiring activity through the end of the year.
In August, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 46 percent of 181 responding executive recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, down four points from July and the first index reading below 50 percent since October 2009.
"The slippage we've seen in business confidence in recent weeks is translating into slower, more drawn out corporate decision-making about recruiting new executives," says Mark Anderson, President and Chief Economist of ExecuNet, the private membership network for senior business executives and those who recruit them.
"More companies have moved from a slow-and-steady green flag on executive hiring to a yellow caution flag, as they sort out the business implications of the broader economic indicators," Anderson adds. "The momentum we tracked in the executive employment market has certainly slowed, and executive recruiters are feeling it, and, along with most employers, closely monitoring the economy for signals of future growth opportunities."
Introduced in May 2003, ExecuNet's Recruiter Confidence Index is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms and recognized as a leading indicator for the economy and the executive job market. A reading at 50 percent or above indicates recruiters are "confident" or "very confident" the number of executive search assignments launched by employers in the next six months will increase.
The following are some recent positions filled by ExecuNet members:
Sales; Software; $105K
Sales Dir; Pharm; $100K
COO; Info Tech; $185K
Dir Comp; Finan; $100K
COO; Manufact; $150K
"I am especially fond of your search agent functionality. With your system, I was able to pinpoint an agent that results in job opening notifications that are very close to what I am seeking."
