US Jobs Market Remains Uncertain, Says Report

Executives interviewed recently for the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index were increasingly uncertain about their third-quarter hiring intentions. Five per cent of chief financial officers (CFOs) surveyed plan to add staff in the third quarter and 5 per cent anticipate reductions in personnel. Another 5 percent were undecided, up from 2 per cent just three months ago. The majority of respondents, 85 per cent, anticipate no change in hiring. The national poll included responses from 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. ‘It is difficult to say what impact the military action in Iraq may have had on hiring confidence,’ said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. ‘The most notable trend in the survey is the decrease in the number of executives who will be hiring and the nearly proportionate increase in the number of those who responded with uncertainty.’

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