Sales and marketing professionals will be highly sought after over the next six months, according to the latest hiring survey conducted by Sales Consultants, the nation's leader in finding and placing sales talent

Sales Consultants is a division of Management Recruiters International (MRI), a subsidiary of staffing and outsourcing leader CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI).

Of nearly 200 executives surveyed, 54.1 percent indicated plans to increase their sales staffs during the first half of 2002, up by 12.9 points from the first half of the year. Another 41.2 percent plan to maintain their current staff sizes, down by 12.4 points, and only 4.7 percent plan decreases, down by .5 of a point.

Allen Salikof, president and CEO of MRI, commented, "This is a very optimistic sign of recovery for the economy. There is market share out there to be gained, and sales people will be the drivers who bring that business to their companies. Job prospects for salespeople are very promising right now."

The upsurge in the hiring of sales professionals is anticipated nationwide. "Companies are beginning to respond to signs of a recovering economy," observed Salikof. "They know their market share depends greatly on the strength of their sales efforts so they are once again planning to add head count where it will have the most dramatic effect on the bottom line."

The downturn in the economy hit some industries very hard while sparing others, a situation reflected in new hire patterns as well. "There is still strong demand for sales and marketing professionals in areas allied to healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceuticals," said Salikof, "and the financial services arena is also strong. We're seeing an upturn in construction and chemicals, while IT and telecommunications are still regrouping."