Sluggish Hiring in Second Half

Despite recent economic news of “green shoots” in the economy and the slowing of GDP contraction, a recovery in the labor market appears to be nowhere in site. The number of organizations planning on trimming their labor force over the next 12 months has decreased substantially from earlier this year, which will help slow the increase in unemployment. However, organizations are not planning on increasing their hiring in the second half of the year. In a recent Roundtable quick poll we asked organizations how their hiring plans for the second half of 2009 compared to the first half of 2009. Over 70% of respondents indicated they planned on making no changes or decreasing hiring in the second half of 2009 compared to the first. Thus, while the number of workers entering unemployment shows signs of decreasing across the rest of the year, limited hiring will make it more difficult for the unemployed to find jobs, increasing the overall unemployment rate.