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Employers Trying To Avoid Further Job Cuts

Companies focus on retaining, retrenching through recession

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 6, 2009

Personal Finance • Consumer Prices Edge Up In October • Dodd Bill Addresses 'Too Big To Fail' • Study: Four Types Of Consumers Emerging From Recession • States Worry About Federal Preemption In Consumer Bill • Job Cuts Continue To Fall In October • Consumer Confidence Dips in October, But Rises for Holiday Season • Is The Recession Over? • Economy to Affect Two-Thirds of Families This Holiday • Fed Sees Improvement In US Economy • Consumer Prices Rise Slightly In September • Attorneys General Back Consumer Financial Protection Agency • Gold And Stocks: Are Both Dangerously High? • Study: Americans Crave Better Financial Knowledge • Hiring Begins To Emerge Even As Companies Shed Jobs • Economists Say Worst Of Recession Over • Economy May Force Early Retirements • White-Collar Workers Hit Hard By Recession • Fed Sees Recovering Economy • Six-In-Ten Workers Live Paycheck To Paycheck, Survey Finds • Seven Steps To Saving Money • Survey Suggests Improvement In Jobs Outlook • Stocks Still Outperform, Researchers Claim • Employment Prospects Brighten For Jobless Americans • Job Cuts Rise Following 15-Month Low • Little Sign of Inflation on the Horizon • CFA Applauds Plan to Strengthen Key Investor Protections • Consumers Fall Further Behind On Loans --- • More Personal Finance News

If you've managed to hold onto your job so far, here's a bit of encouragement; following a loss of 2.6 million jobs in the last four months, U.S. employers are holding off on staff expansions but are focusing efforts on keeping current headcount as they navigate through a tough economy.

That's the key finding of the latest quarterly survey from CareerBuilder and USA TODAY, conducted by Harris Interactive, tracking projected employment trends.

The survey, "Q2 2009 Job Forecast," was conducted from February 20 through March 11, 2009, among 2,500 hiring managers and human resource professionals and over 4,400 workers in private sector companies.

"We'll be looking for the market to stabilize over the next three to six months, when you’ll hopefully see job losses below 100,000 and eventually closer to zero," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "Employers want to hold on to their talent and are taking measures to contain costs and bring in new revenue streams, so they can maintain their staff levels. Sixty-four percent of employers expect there will be no change in their number of full-time, permanent employees in the second quarter."

Just 13 percent of employers said they increased their number of full-time, permanent employees in the first quarter — compared with 31 percent this time last year — while 60 percent reported their staff levels remained the same. Twenty-six percent reported a reduction in headcount, double the number this time last year. One percent were undecided.

Fourteen percent of employers expect to add full-time, permanent employees in the second quarter, relatively unchanged from the first quarter of 2009 and down from 29 percent in the second quarter of 2008. Fourteen percent anticipate there will be a decrease in headcount in the second quarter while 64 percent expect no change and 7 percent are undecided.

Twenty-two percent of hiring managers reported there were reductions in staffing at their locations in the first quarter of 2009, twice as many as during the year-ago period. Twelve percent anticipate there will be layoffs in the next three months while 16 percent are unsure. Seventy-two percent expect no change.

Looking at a subset of managers specializing in human resources, 48 percent believe their organizations will benefit from the economic stimulus in terms of getting more business. Twenty-three percent said their companies are planning to bring back workers who were laid off once the economy turns around.

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