As Jobless Claims Mount, Executive Recruiters See Hope

Source: Jeremy Caplan for TIME 

July 7, 2009

Initial claims for jobless benefits clicked higher once again, with 627,000 newly unemployed reported for the week ended June 20. But amidst that grim news there are hopeful signs that the employment picture may soon improve. Executive recruiters and Human Resources professionals say signs of an upturn are beginning to emerge.

Recruiters tend to fill the higher paying employment categories, including management as well as sales and marketing professionals and industrial specialists. HR execs have an even broader view of employment since they typically oversee a company's entire workforce.

Even as these hiring professionals slog through the recession, they are increasingly optimistic about 2010. Two-thirds of companies that have imposed hiring freezes expect to lift them next year, according to a new survey conducted by global HR consulting firm Watson Wyatt. "Things have started to stabilize," says Watson Wyatt executive Laura Sejen, summarizing HR survey responses. "The outlook is fairly promising."