Demand For Executives Falls 15% In Third Quarter

Demand For Executives Falls 15% In Third Quarter

-- Retail Industry Defies Downturn With A Double-Digit Increase --



www.execunet.com - October 14, 2002 - ExecuNet.com, an online career services center for executives and recruiters, today announced its Executive Talent Demand Index (ETDI) decreased 15% in the third quarter of 2002 when compared with the third quarter of 2001. Published quarterly since 1997, the ETDI helps executives, recruiters, and corporations analyze hiring trends according to industry, function, region, and compensation.

During the first and second quarters of 2002, demand dropped 26% and 19% respectively.

While the clouds have not yet lifted from the executive employment market, the forecast is improving, says Dave Opton, CEO and Founder of ExecuNet.com. The decline in jobs continues to improve after reaching a bottom in the fourth quarter of last year.

Executive Demand By Industry

Demand for executives in the Retail sector climbed 10% during the third quarter of 2002 versus the same period a year ago marking the first demand increase for this sector since 2000. The Pharmaceuticals/Healthcare/Biotech industry also posted an increase in demand rising 1% during the quarter.

Industries with the most severe declines in executive demand during the third quarter include High Tech (33%), Business Services (27%), Natural Resources/Base Materials (13%), and Media/Creative/Publishing (10%).

The Financial Services (8%) and Manufacturing (6%) sectors each posted single-digit decreases in demand.

Executive Demand By Region

Demand for executives in all regions across the U.S. dropped during the third quarter versus 2001 levels. The Southwest posted the most significant drop in demand (39%), followed by declines in the Mountain States (27%), West Coast (23%), NY Metro (19%), New England/Northeast (14%), Mid-Atlantic (13%), South/Southeast (7%), and Midwest (2%).

Internationally, executive demand dropped 11% during the third quarter.

Executive Demand By Function

Across all functions, executive employment opportunities were fewer in number in the third quarter than in the same period one year ago. Demand for Sales and Marketing executives showed the greatest resilience, dropping just 3% for the quarter. Other functions posted double-digit falls, including, Consulting (47%), Finance (25%), MIS/IT (21%), Human Resources (14%), Operations Management (13%), and General Management (12%).

Executive Demand by Compensation

Demand for executives earning $200,000 to $249,000 decreased 26%. At all other compensation levels, the drop in demand did not exceed the overall average of -15%. For executives with salaries in the $100,000 to $149,000 and $150,00 to $199,000 ranges, demand dropped 12% and 7% respectively. For leaders earning $250,000 and more, demand decreased 11%.

Complete ETDI findings for the third quarter of 2002 can be found at www.execunet.com/talentdemand.cfm.