The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 4,000 U.S.-based C-level executives and other senior managers in a variety of fields who are asked about their hiring plans and general level of optimism for the upcoming quarter. Survey respondents include more than 1,400 chief financial officers; 1,400 chief information officers; 500 senior human resources managers; 100 lawyers at law firms and 100 corporate lawyers; and 125 advertising executives and 375 marketing executives, all of whom have hiring authority. The Robert Half Professional Employment Report is the first quarterly executive survey of its size and scope to concentrate exclusively on professional-level hiring.

Key Findings

• Eighty-eight percent of executives expect to make no changes to the size of their full-time, professional-level teams. Five percent of executives anticipate bringing in additional staff in the third quarter, and 5 percent project personnel reductions. The resulting net hiring increase is down two points from last quarter's survey.

• Sixty-nine percent of executives reported recruiting challenges, up eight points from the previous quarter.

• More than three-quarters (79 percent) of executives expressed confidence in the growth prospects for their firms in the next three months.

• Businesses in the Mid-Atlantic states anticipate hiring most actively, with a net 6 percent of executives in the region planning to add professional-level staff.

• Respondents in the transportation sector are most likely to make personnel additions in the third quarter; a net 6 percent said they anticipate hiring. The transportation industry has led in hiring projections for three consecutive quarters.

"One factor affecting hiring activity is a shortage of specialized talent -  especially in technology and finance," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. "While general unemployment remains high, unemployment for key positions in these fields is low, leading to recruiting challenges for many firms."

Brett Good, a senior district president with Robert Half, added, "To locate specialized skills quickly and keep workloads manageable, many firms are engaging temporary or project professionals. The flexibility of variable-cost labor provides an advantage to companies that seek greater control over their human resources budgets and appreciate having access to skilled talent when and for as long as they need it."

The transportation industry has led in hiring projections for three consecutive quarters. This was followed by a net 5 percent of executives in both the manufacturing and the finance, insurance and real estate sectors who indicated they will increase personnel during the upcoming quarter.

Source: Robert Half International