Rebound in Managerial Hiring

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Hartford and Indianapolis Lead in Job Growth

The February 2010 CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, which measures managerial recruitment activity online, showed considerable growth in hiring activity this month. The index rose to 83.3, up 12.5 points since January. Leading the rebound in per capita hiring gains were Cincinnati (+39%), Cleveland (+37%), Hartford (+28%) and Indianapolis (+24%).

VP-level hiring showed a dramatic gain, rising 29 points while manager-level (+18) and C-level (+10) hiring made significant gains. Director-level hiring was the only group to see a drop this month, down 3 points.

“The February Index is up 33.8 points from a year ago, and this month’s hiring activity offers some relief to many parts of the country hurt by the recession,” explains Jay Martin, COO, JobSerf. “The improvement in job growth is an early indicator of general economic recovery.”

Cities in the Northeast had large per capita gains, including New York (+10 points to 62), Philadelphia (+8 points to 53) and Hartford (+9 points to 41). Boston continued to rank as the number-two city for recruitment activity, rising 4 points this month to 100. The top-ranked city, Washington, D.C., rose 7 points to 138. Although the Midwest and Southeast had gains, the West continues to struggle and remains behind the rest of the country. Cities in Southern California barely improved with a 1-point gain each (Riverside at 14 points and Los Angeles at 32 points) and both trail the leading cities for jobs by a considerable amount.

“Even though the Southwest and Western areas of the county did not see a strong demand this month, the overall rise in recruitment activity is promising,” says Tony Lee, publisher, CareerCast.com. “The Index shows the beginning of a hiring rebound, which is good news for those who have been unemployed for many months.”

The CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index is an exclusive barometer showing the change in managerial job openings posted online nationally. The Index reveals the differences in job listings by month, and offers valuable trends and forecasts using proprietary employment data hand-counted by a team of researchers.