Bloomberg BNA: No Real Gains in Jobs or Layoffs in Q4 2012

 

 

Bloomberg BNA’s Q4 2012 Employment Outlook is projecting no real gains in job opportunities but also quells fears about prospective layoffs and job loss during the autumn months. After a period of notable gains in 2010 and early 2011, hiring prospects have stalled while the job market has given little indication of any sustained growth. However, prospects for non-management workers remains significantly improved since the recession ended and imminent layoffs are currently at their lowest levels since late 2007.

Since Q1 2011, workforce expansion plans have v
aried only modestly, lacking any indication of a sustained hiring trend. However, while no hoped-for post-recession hiring boom has occurred, workforce cutbacks have receded to near pre-recession levels. Only 6 percent of respondents anticipate a reduction in technical and professional employment levels throughout the end of 2012. Q4 cuts to production and service staff are anticipated to be modestly higher at 8 percent while office and clerical cutbacks were expected by 7 percent of respondents.

The survey also found that, in July and August, 24 percent of employers were having difficulty filling production and service job openings, an 8 point increase over Q2. More employers also suffered difficulty finding candidates for office and clerical staff, rising from 5 percent in Q2 to 11 percent in Q3. The positions posing the greatest challenge for employers to fill continue to be technical and professional job vacancies. Almost half of respondents (47 percent) reported difficulty in filling such positions over the summer months.