Hiring on the Rise

Despite the fact that the effects of the economic downturn have just recently tricked down into statutory levels, companies may be looking to hire again in the near future. Reports have surfaced that the insurance and medical industries plan on hiring thousands of employees throughout the remaining quarters of the year.

Reports from TalentQuest note that there has been an increase in the number of senior-level hires businesses are making and an increased interest in investing in employee performance management and development for the first time since the economy began to falter in 2008.

"The last couple of years presented new, unprecedented challenges with regard to shifting talent management needs," said TalentQuest CEO, Frank Merritt. "While it is premature to say that difficult times are behind us, we are encouraged by the first positive signs we have seen in many months."

Several other industries have posted optimistic press releases via HR Marketer. According to Orlandojobs.com, "only 9.1% of surveyed companies plan on not hiring at all. Projected Central Florida job openings include: medical jobs and healthcare jobs, hospitality jobs, banking jobs, finance jobs, insurance jobs, education jobs, telecommunications jobs, real estate jobs, technology jobs and government jobs."

Although the outlook is encouraging, Orlandojobs.com also warns companies of the challenges they will face from the effects of the economy. "Too many unqualified candidates apply for every open job, turnover for hourly jobs is high, budgeting for the HR department has fallen, retention is difficult when the recession forces additional work onto current employees and relocation is next to impossible because of the still stagnant housing market."

Frank Merrit of TalentQuest poses an interesting assessment of the current conditions."The failures of prominent, well-respected businesses have created arguably the largest pool of high-quality, available candidates in recent history," Merritt said.

In order to encourage the growth of the job market, assessment and human capital companies must shift their focus from helping clients maximise their productivity to helping clients identify and retain the best candidates. Available positions will continue to increase as the economy heals, but as of now the job market needs help developing, and companies need reassurance that they are hiring the most qualified employees.