November, 2007: The Market

It feels like an eternity since I sat down to right . . . probably because so much has happened recently in the financial markets.

If you read The Job Market Blog with any regularity, you know that it provides information about layoffs worldwide in amounts over 100 plus information about hiring, too.

If you look at some of the listings here, there has been a shift from just manufacturing layoffs to include financial services cutbacks, too.

And those cutbacks are not in small amounts.

We know about Countrywide, of course, but when firms like UBS, Merrill, Citi, Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns (and now JPMorganChase and Wachovia) and others lose as much money as they have, the layoffs are still coming. Forget about bonuses being lower this year. The job cuts are around the corner. After all, this is budget time and when firms are looking at bleak numbers, they aren't as willing to approve new hiring or any new appropriations.

Now, at the same time, there are labor shortages.

For people with a college degree, unemployment stands at 2%, far lower than the US unemployment rate AND job creation is still going on. Jobs are being created in startups and established firms alike so many of these people will land quickly, especially if they are skilled labor like technology professionals and accounting professionals.

When I write this blog, I usually speak to job hunters but here, I'm going to speak to employers.

Have you noticed that the number of accepted offers that are turned down later has grown?

Salary levels are pretty much the same now as they were in 2002 while costs for most items are certainly increasing.

Until a few firms start pushing the salary envelop and setting the new benchmark for talent (other than Google), then you will remain susceptible to these occurrences . . . and that makes it hard to plan.

The current issue of Natural Section Ezine has an idea for you to use. To subscribe, go to www.thebiggamehunter.net.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

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