Job Forecast

Photo by: Mike Licht

“Yay, they’re hiring!”

“Boo, they’re firing!”

What’s this year going to be like for job seekers? Better than 2009, I believe… but still a bit shitty.

A recent survey offers some insights about how the job market may be changing.

CareerBuilder questioned more than 2,700 hiring managers and HR professionals from across the U.S. for its 2010 Job Forecast. The responses from employers are a mixture of good news and bad news.

The Good News:

  • 20% plan to hire full-time workers this year.
  • 57% plan to increase salaries (though not by much).
  • 32% plan to bring back workers they laid off in 2009.
  • 35% plan to provide more flexible work arrangements (alternate schedules, telecommuting, etc.).

The Bad News:

  • 61% will not be hiring in 2010.
  • 9% plan to reduce their workforce in 2010.
  • 37% will cut perks and benefits in 2010 (including health care coverage).

And some of the stats are open to interpretation as to whether they’re good news or bad news:

  • 37% plan to replace lower-performing employees with higher-performers in 2010. This is bad news for employed slackers, but good news for sharp job seekers eager to take their place.
  • 27% say they are open to retaining workers who are approaching retirement.  Does this mean 73% are not?

Other interesting tidbits:

  • These industries will be hiring: Information technology, manufacturing, financial services, professional and business services, sales/retail, health care, and transportation.
  • It may be time to learn a new language. 39% plan to hire bilingual workers in 2010; have of them said that if they had two equally qualified candidates, they would be more inclined to hire the bilingual candidate.
  • 30% anticipate hiring freelancers or contractors.

You can read the detailed report here . But don’t just read it, scratch your head and mutter “Hmmmm.”  Be proactive and use the information to plan your career strategies for the coming year.