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View All NewsCareerBuilder - 2009 hiring down, but not out
Fewer employers plan to add staff in the New Year compared to 2008, according to CareerBuilder.com's 2009 job forecast survey of private-sector hiring managers and human resources professionals released today.
Fourteen percent of employers said they plan to add full-time staff in 2009, according to this year's survey, down from 32% in last year's.
"The job market of 2008 suffered as the U.S. economy weakened and entered into a recession," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "Looking ahead, recruitment levels are expected to be lower in the new year, but employers are not out of the mix completely; instead they're taking 'a wait-and-see' approach to hiring."
More employers also plan to reduce staff levels in 2009, with 16% saying they will make reductions compared with 8% in last year's survey.
Hiring expectations are strongest in the South where 18% of employers plan to add full-time staff. The Northeast had the fewest employers planning to add full-time staff, 11%, and the most planning staff decreases at 19%.
The industry with the most employers planning to add staff was information technology with 28% planning to add full-time workers. It was followed by professional and business services with 23% of employers planning to add full-time staff.
The survey also found that while 23% of employers will have their hiring budgets decreased, 12% planned to increase their recruitment spending with staffing firms and recruiters.
CareerBuilder.com's survey questioned 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals at private-sector companies between Nov. 12 and Dec. 1.