While much of the country is focused on the health of the broader economy, one forecast of management-level job creation suggests hiring activity for top management roles may continue through year-end despite the uncertainty that has held up other corporate spending plans.

In August, 26 percent of 126 executive recruiters polled by ExecuNet reported they expect companies to leverage the economic climate over the next six months by adding new executive-level jobs.

Also, 37 percent forecasted companies will "trade up" with new hires for existing management jobs to improve leadership bench strength. Another 27 percent indicated companies would elect not to add new management jobs, while seven percent anticipated employers would choose to avoid filling current management-level vacancies. Three percent of recruiters expect companies to further cut top jobs.



ExecuNet's Executive Job Creation Index is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms and reflects responding executive recruiters' expectations of how companies are managing their executive talent needs. The Executive Job Creation Index compares the number of companies expected to add executive positions over the next six months versus those planning to downsize their management teams or delay filling vacant management roles. In August, that figure hit 17 points, up four points from July.

Also in August, ExecuNet's benchmark Recruiter Confidence Index revealed that 36 percent of executive search firm respondents are "confident" or "very confident" the executive employment market will improve over the next six months, down six points from July.

"While we have seen some contraction in recruiter confidence, our Executive Job Creation Index continues to demonstrate that even in the face of economic uncertainty recruiting activity continues to fill new management roles or improve bench strength," says ExecuNet President and Chief Economist Mark Anderson. "We continue to counsel our executive-level members that they needn't be focused on how the economy might be working against them, but rather, committed to messaging how they can help just one employer improve business operations and results for the long-run."

Joseph Daniel McCool
Joseph Daniel McCool is senior contributing editor with ExecuNet and principal of management recruiting/succession advisory firm The McCool Group. He is also the author of Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct & Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent, recognized widely as "one of the best business books of 2008," and its Brazilian Portuguese translation, Escolhendo Líderes, published in June 2010.

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