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While acknowledging the more modest economic growth that characterized the second half of 2006, most employment market observers still expect to see healthy hiring in many sectors in 2007.
“It’s a strong employment market, even though we hear about a slowing economy,” says Brendan Courtney, senior vice president of professional services at staffing firm Spherion.
In the United States, 23 percent of employers expect to increase their headcount in the first quarter of 2007, versus 11 percent who anticipate cutting staffing levels, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. About two-thirds of companies either plan no change in the rate of hiring or are undecided about hiring plans.
Here are prognostications for the 2007 in a number of key industries:
Marketing
The need for marketers with online experience (or who are at least online-savvy) will only grow in 2007. “There’s a lot of pressure on our firm to find experience in Internet marketing,” says Sean Bisceglia, president of Aquent Marketing Staffing. “The buzz is, how are we going to recruit the next generation of marketers?”
Companies are looking for expert guidance on which online media are best suited to their marketing efforts, Bisceglia says. To fill this need, firms are looking to hire into positions like new media marketing coordinator or strategist.
Information Technology
Although lower-level software programming jobs continue to be offshored, experienced IT folks will have many opportunities in 2007.
“Cyberterrorism and rapidly changing Internet services challenge businesses to maintain effective and secure files,” says Joanie Ruge, senior vice president at staffing firm Adecco.
Demand should also be strong in healthcare IT specialties. “We expect an increase in the need for data managers of computerized patient records” in a variety of care settings, says Ruge.
Accounting
Although large corporations have already met most Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance deadlines, these accounting and governance reforms are expected to continue driving job growth.
“Sarbanes-Oxley will have a profound effect for years to come,” says Courtney. “There wasn’t the talent to backfill slots emptied by accounts pulled onto SOX compliance projects. There’s a huge demand for auditors, CPAs and people in internal controls.”
The Big Four accounting and consulting firms continue to hire aggressively as they face competition from smaller competitors and corporate employers. “We’ve seen a fairly robust increase in business across all three of our practices: audit, tax and advisory,” says Manny Fernandez, national managing partner for campus recruiting at KPMG. “Now that we’ve stabilized the turnover in the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley, we’re trying to come back to a sense of balance in terms of people’s workloads.”
Finance
Given the record bonuses handed out on Wall Street just in time for the 2006 holidays, it’s no surprise industry watchers are bullish on 2007.
“We see continued expansion in venture capital and private equity, and it’s broad-based, from raw startups to multinationals,” says Peter Polachi, a partner at executive search firm Polachi & Co.
However, keep in mind that the demand for leaders of new businesses is fickle. “The need for top-level talent is not always anticipatable -- it’s hard to see more than 90 days out,” Polachi cautions.
Global Business
Continued economic globalization will create new opportunities for American managers, even as it sends more cut-and-dried jobs overseas.
“There are more jobs for people able to work in a global supply-chain environment, with the ability to understand different languages and cultures,” says Nabil Nasr, director of the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Specifically, companies in manufacturing and related industries are seeking program managers and vice presidents of supply-chain operations.
A Quick Read on the Rest of the Job Market
Other employment sectors will see ups and downs in 2007. “Housing and construction are still slowing down,” says Philip Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. “Transportation, except airlines, is awfully strong. Railroads are facing huge retirements, and delivery services are hiring.”
Some technology markets are rebounding from early-2000s lows. “Medical devices and electronics have made a comeback,” Gardner says. “Oil exploration is going like crazy, but they’re at maximum capacity -- how much more can they hire?”
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• Kick-Start Your Career in 2007
• Salary Outlook 2007
• A Fresh Start for Your Career
• Improve Your Job Search This Year
• Understand Recruitment Cycles to Give Your Job Search an Edge
• Ten Career Resolutions
• Refresh Your Resume for the New Year
• Rx for a Retro Resume
• Ten Tips to Boost Your Interview IQ
• Audio: 2007 Hiring and Salary Outlook
