ExecuNet's benchmark Executive Job Creation Index (EJCI) held positive for a ninth consecutive month in September, reflecting the slow but continuing rebuild of many corporate management teams.
The rate of hiring among employers expected to add executive jobs in the next 6 months outpaced those planning to eliminate or postpone filling top roles by 7 points, extending a positive trend but still weighed down by employer hesitancy to hire for top jobs.
In September, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index found that 50 percent of 147 responding executive recruiters are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, up four points from August.
ExecuNet's EJCI is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms and reflects responding executive recruiters' expectations of how companies are managing their executive talent needs. The Job Creation Index compares the number of companies expected to add executive positions over the next six months versus those planning to downsize their management teams or delay filling vacant management roles.
The September Job Creation Index is based on an ExecuNet survey of 147 executive recruiters, and reveals that executive recruiters anticipate 44 percent of companies will leverage the economic climate by selectively trading up management talent with new hires for existing executive roles, and 23 percent will add new leadership roles.
The number of recruiters expecting companies to wait to fill executive job vacancies decreased to eight percent in September from 13 percent in August. An additional 21 percent of companies are expected to maintain their current management staffing, while four percent are expected to eliminate executive roles over the next six months.
Executive job creation begins in the strongest industries, and following this recession, we see healthcare, technology and life sciences increasing the pace, says Mark Anderson, President and Chief Economist of ExecuNet. We're encouraged to see this growth in executive hiring, but acknowledge it is outpacing hiring by U.S. employers at lower levels and we don't expect to see any major increase until after the fall elections.
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