January 18, 2012
| Contact: Doug Berger 212-262-1168 douglasbergernyc@gmail.com |
MARKETERS’ EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS
“All three of our key employment indicators—new hiring, layoffs, and hiring freezes—are showing improvement over the fourth quarter of last year,” said Jerry Bernhart, leading direct marketing recruiter and Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, which conducts the widely tracked quarterly employment survey. “Employers are hiring cautiously, but on the jobs front we’ve recouped all of the weakness we experienced in 2011. In fact, the new hire index is showing one the largest quarter-to-quarter improvements we’ve seen in the 12-year history of this survey.”
The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates’ quarter-one (Q1) survey:
- 52% of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q1, up sharply from 40% last quarter. One year ago, the index stood at 52%.
- 19% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, down slightly from 20% in the fall quarter.
- The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q1 dropped to 6%, compared with 8% last quarter.
When asked what positions will be in greatest demand during the current quarter, employers listed analytic-related jobs on top, followed by marketing, sales, creative, and account services. “Analytic positions greatly outnumbered all other leading job categories,” Bernhart said.
“Several other trends also stand out,” added Bernhart. “We’re seeing more multiple openings per company, and social media-related jobs are appearing for the first time on the top 10 list of positions that will be in most demand.”
Bernhart said there’s also plenty of empirical evidence to indicate things are picking up steam. “Recently, I was speaking with an unemployed multichannel marketing VP who has been actively looking for a new position for several months,” Bernhart said. “He told me he was expecting three offers. You don’t hear stories like that unless the job market is healthy.”
Bernhart Associates’ Q1 hiring survey was emailed on January 9 to more than 12,000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 446 organizations responded to the nationally followed employment-trends survey, which is now in its twelfth year.
According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2011, marketers—commercial and nonprofit—spent $163 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 52.1 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.96 trillion in incremental sales. In 2011, direct marketing accounted for 8.7 percent of total US gross domestic product. Also last year, there were 1.3 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 7.9 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.2 million US jobs.
Results of past surveys can be found in the DMA’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.
Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In” in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the front page of the digital and direct marketing recruiting firm’s website.
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Please direct executive search inquires to jerry@bernhart.com or call 507-451-4270.
About Bernhart Associates
Bernhart
Associates Executive Search, LLC, is owned by Jerry
Bernhart, a leading
and nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter,
writer, and speaker. Founded in 1991, Bernhart Associates
today
recruits for positions at all levels in Multichannel Direct Marketing,
CRM, E-Commerce, Database Marketing, Business Development and
Marketing Analytics. Respected as a leading authority on
issues related
to digital and direct marketing recruiting, Jerry is a frequent speaker
at
national marketing conferences and is often quoted by the digital and
direct marketing news
media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for leading
online and offline multichannel marketing publications.
The
Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment
Report, now in its eleventh year, has become the most widely followed
employment report in digital and direct marketing and measures
employers' hiring plans for the coming quarter.
It is the only forward-looking employment survey of its kind
in
digital
and direct marketing and unparalleled in size and scope.
Bernard
(Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates,
Naperville, IL, contributes research and
analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct
Marketing Employment Report. Bernie has held senior level
positions with leading direct marketing research and analysis
service providers for more than 30 years, and is an adjunct instructor
of statistics in the MBA program at Benedictine University.
He can be
reached at
bernie@bsilverman.com.
Douglas Berger, a New York City
speechwriter and corporate communications professional, provides P.R.
assistance for Bernhart Associates. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com
To keep informed of our current career opportunities, be sure to follow me on Twitter. Also, you are invited to send me a LinkedIn invitation.
Keep up on the latest digital and direct marketing hiring trends with our quarterly digital and direct marketing employment updates, the most widely followed and quoted hiring and employment reports in digital and direct marketing. A must for hiring managers or anyone who wants to keep updated on employment trends in digital and direct marketing. To participate, send an email to survey@bernhart.com, and put "opt-in" in the subject line.