Seven Hiring Trends for 2009
- The Find: Fewer employers may be hiring in 2009, but those that are are increasing salaries, offering more flexible work arrangements and focusing on green jobs and retaining mature workers.
- The Source: A survey from CareerBuilder, conducted by Harris Interactive.
- Increased salaries: 66 percent of employers reported their companies will increase salaries for existing employees in 2009, down from 80 percent in 2008.
- Flexible work arrangements: 31 percent of employers plan to provide more flexible work arrangements.
- Green jobs: Thirteen percent of employers said they plan to add "green jobs," compared to one in ten who said they would added them in 2008.
- Recruitment tools: While 23 percent of employers said their overall hiring budgets would decrease, some do plan to increase their recruitment spend on online recruitment sites (19 percent), newspaper classifieds (15 percent), career fairs (12 percent), recruiters (12 percent) and social networking sites (7 percent).
- Retaining retirees: A quarter of employers surveyed reported concern over the loss of intellectual capital as a large number of baby boomers approach retirement age.
- Diversity recruitment: When asked if there is a particular segment of workers they plan to target more aggressively in 2009, employers pointed to Hispanics, women, African-Americans and mature workers. 88 percent said they will place the same or greater emphasis on recruiting bilingual candidates.
- Freelance or contract hiring: As the nation waits for the economy to bounce back, employers are turning to freelance or contract workers. 28 percent anticipate hiring freelancers or contractors in 2009.
The Question: Is your firm planning on hiring in 2009?
(Image of gorilla with hiring sign by madebytess, CC 2.0)