If you’re looking for a job in direct marketing, good luck. According to the newest survey from Bernhart Associates Executive Search, the direct marketing employment picture remains gloomy. For instance, the percentage of companies planning staff reductions increased from 9% last quarter to 11% for the next three months.
What’s more, about one-third of the companies surveyed expect to have a hiring freeze intact for the rest of this year—a 26% increase over last quarter’s survey. And among those who expect to resume hiring next year, most said that “adding new head count will likely require nonstandard approvals,” according to the report.
“In terms of job creation we’re about where we were a year ago, and the percentage of direct marketing companies with hiring freezes stands where it did during the summer of 2001,” Bernhart president Jerry Bernhart said in a statement. “The spike in optimism that we saw early in the summer has given way to renewed uncertainty following the sharp retreat in financial markets, the erosion of consumer confidence, and fears about a possible war against Iraq.”