The outlook for the top of the employment market in 2009 is beginning to show signs of improvement.
ExecuNet’s Recruiter Confidence Index (RCI), which hit an all-time low in November, climbed higher in December, as executive search firms begin to eye the second quarter of 2009 with more optimism about assignment levels.
Introduced in May 2003, the Recruiter Confidence Index is based on a monthly survey of executive search firms conducted by ExecuNet, an executive business network. Designed to forecast job growth at the executive level, a reading below 50 percent indicates recruiters expect the number of search assignments in the next six months to decrease.
According to December’s survey of 100 executive recruiters, 40 percent are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve in the next six months, up from 26 percent in November.
“While the uptick in confidence indicates that more executive recruiters are expecting an increase in assignment growth, the RCI remains below healthy levels,” said Mark Anderson, president of ExecuNet in a press release. “Looking ahead to 2009, the search industry is cautiously optimistic that executive level job growth will begin to rebound in the second half of the year. In the meantime, recruiters continue to report pockets of job growth in the healthcare, environmental, and energy industries.”
Recruiters’ short-term confidence also increased in December, as 17 percent were confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve during the next three months, up from 10 percent in November.