2010 U.S. JOB FORECAST

The encouraging news regarding the economy may be easing hiring fears, as employers signal an increase in their plans to hire in the new year, according to CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast. While employers continue to closely monitor the progress of recovery for the US economy, they are beginning to consider hiring strategies designed to preserve the health and growth of their businesses for the future. Career Builder surveyed more than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals nations wide across industries.

“ There have been many signs over the past few months that point to the healing of the US economy, especially the continued decrease in the number of jobs lost per month, a trend that will hopefully carry over into the new year,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Although 20 percent of employers plan to add headcount in 2010, up from 14 percent last year, still remains cautious in regards to their hiring, we are headed in the right direction but should not expect to see actual job growth until at least Q2 201

HIRING IN 2010

FULL TIME
Twenty percent of employers plan to increase their number of full-time permanent employees in 2010, up from 14 percent in 2009. Nine percent say they plan to decrease headcount in 2010, down sharply from 16 percent in 2009. Sixty-one percent don’t plan to change staff levels, while 10 percent say they are unsure.

PART TIME
Eleven percent of employers plan say they pal to add part-time employers in 2010, up slightly from 9 percent in 2009. Eight percent say they plan to decrease their part-time help in 2010, down from 14 percent in 2009. Sixty-nine percent plan no change in headcount, while 13 percent are unsure.

HIRING BY REGION
Employers in the West are planning to increase their headcounts more in 2010 than the other regions of the country. Nearly one-quarter of employers (24 percent) in the West say they plan to add full-time workers in 2010, compared to 21 percent in the Northeast, 20 percent in the South and 16 percent in the Midwest.

While plans to decrease headcounts in 2010 are down sharply across all regions, employers in Northeast still plan to trim headcounts by 10 percent, followed by an 8 percent decrease in the South, West and Midwest.

ASA Research: Staffing Jobs to Signal Recession End

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from a news release being sent today to business and labor reporters in the top 100 markets across the nation.

A sustained upturn in staffing industry employment would signal the end of the current recession and suggest that overall nonfarm employment would begin to grow about three months later, according to research released today by the American Staffing Association.

Staffing industry employment has long been considered a popular indicator of current economic conditions and a precursor of overall employment trends. Recent ASA research confirmed this conventional wisdom, but added important nuance.

Staffing industry employment is a strong coincident economic indicator when the economy is emerging from a recession.
Staffing industry employment is a leading indicator for nonfarm employment—by about three months when the economy is emerging from a recession.
"This is the first time that an upswing in staffing jobs has been so closely linked with economic recovery," says ASA vice president Steve Berchem, CSP. A paper describing the research is available on the ASA Web site, americanstaffing.net.

The ASA Staffing Index provides the only near-real time measure of weekly changes in staffing jobs. The index has been improved so that, beginning June 23, there will be only a nine-day lag between the close of a payroll week and the reporting of the index results.