Despite a significant slowdown in GDP growth during the second quarter, recruiters do not expect companies to put the brakes on executive-level hiring in the second half of the year. In July, ExecuNetís Recruiters Confidence Index (RCI) inched higher amid strong demand for executive talent.
Introduced in May 2003, the Recruiters Confidence Index (RCI) is based on a monthly survey of executive recruiters conducted by ExecuNet, the leading executive job search and recruiting network. Independent analysis of the RCI has confirmed it is a ìleading indicatorî for the executive search industry.
According to the survey of 114 executive recruiters, 71% are confident or very confident that the executive employment market will improve during the next six months -- up slightly from 70% last month.
Next Six Months
ìMixed economic reports have not shaken recruitersí confidence in the executive employment market because their phones havenít stopped ringing,î says Mark Anderson, President of ExecuNet. ìGiven the rate at which corporate profits have expanded during the past year, job creation at the executive level should remain strong during the second half of 2006.î
Executive recruitersí short-term outlook also remains optimistic, as 79% of recruiters said they are confident or very confident the employment market will improve in the next three months. During this period of time, the executive search industry is expecting a 24% increase in the number of six-figure job assignments received from corporate clients.
Recruitersí bullish assessment of the executive employment market is strongly supported by their own business decisions. In July, more than half of all search firms (59%) reported plans to hire additional professional staff in the next three months.
