A Tale of Two Job Markets

TheLadders.com Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report Finds Steady Growth in Nationwide $100,000 Job Market

Beneath the headlines of slow job growth in December, hiring activity at the high end of the market is surging, according to data tabulated by TheLadders.com, the worldís leading online marketplace for $100k jobs. TheLadders.comís Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report for Q407, which tracks hiring patterns in 20 major cities and surveys in-the-trenches job seekers nationwide, found a pattern of growth across a variety of metrics heading into the peak job search month of January.

ìSteady growth in the high end job market has been one of the few consistent sources of good news over the past 2 quarters,î said Marc Cenedella, president and CEO of TheLadders.com. ìItís interesting to note that although the top line jobs number only grew at a modest rate of 18,000 jobs in December, service-sector employment rose 93,000 and business and professional services companies' payrolls gained 43,000. This is an extremely positive signal because hiring patterns at the high end of the market are often a better leading indicator of companiesí future growth prospects, than trailing employment roll data.î

Regional Job Market Analysis
To get a the heart of hiring patterns in the $100,000 job market, TheLadders.comís Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report measured hiring activity across a variety of metrics and found the hottest $100,000 job markets to be New York, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Chicago. New York continues to take top honors as the place to be for the executive set; it currently attracts the highest number of job-seekers from other parts of the country. The odds of getting hired are also very favorable in New York with the ratio of job-seekers to job postings currently sitting at an attractive 3:1. Among the firms doing the most high-end hiring in the region are Pricewaterhouse Coopers, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson and General Electric.

On the west coast, the ratio of job seekers to available jobs is even stronger. Both San Francisco and San Diego currently boast a 2:1 ratio of job seekers to open positions. Companies doing the most high-end hiring in these markets include: eBay, Google, Claritas and Intercontinental Hotels.

Tampa and Detroit continue to be among the tightest markets in the 20 DMAs. Neither is currently drawing much attention from out-of-state job searches and there is stiff competition for every available opening.

Job Seeker Survey
As part of TheLadders.com Quarterly Executive Job Market Trends Report, active job seekers throughout the country were asked to weigh in with their own first-hand accounts on the status of the current job market in their cities. Job seekers were asked questions such as: How stable is the job market in your city? Do you feel that there are more opportunities in cities outside of your own? Where are the best opportunities?

Sentiment about the stability of the high-end job market was strong among active job seekers. A 51.1 percent majority described the high-end job markets in their cities as either ìstableî or ìsomewhat stableî and 61.2 percent believe it will take less than 6 months to find a new job.

Though most executives are confident in their prospects for landing a job in their home cities, many are also considering out-of-state assignments. A total of 55.2 percent of respondents said they are open to moving to another city for the right position. The city receiving the most votes as the as the best place for job seekers was New York.

Complete city-by-city data and survey results are available at the following link: www.theladders.com/static/boom/. Please contact John Roderick at 631-656-9736, or john@jroderick.com to receive more information.