CareerBuilder’s Forecast Looks Sunny for 2015 Jobseekers

Companies will be ringing in the New Year with more job openings, according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast. More than one-third of employers expect to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2015, the best outlook from the survey since 2006. Salary increases—including raises for minimum wage workers—are also on the agenda of hiring managers.

“The U.S. job market is turning a corner as caution gives way to confidence,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and coauthor of The Talent Equation. “Hiring in 2014 has been broad-based, including encouraging activity among small businesses and hard-hit sectors like manufacturing and construction. The number of companies planning to hire in 2015 is up 12 percentage points over last year, setting the stage for a more competitive environment for recruiters that may lend itself to some movement in wages.”

The annual job forecast survey was conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll and included a representative sample of 2,192 hiring managers and HR professionals across all industries. Note: The term, employers, is used in this report to mean employers responding to the survey.

Full-Time, Permanent Hiring

Thirty-six percent of employers plan to increase the hiring of full-time, permanent employees in 2015, a significant jump from 24% last year when employers were more hesitant to expand their workforce. Nine percent expect to decrease staff levels, an improvement from 13% last year, while 48% anticipate no change and 8% are unsure.

The percentages of employers hiring full-time, permanent employees in Information Technology (54%), Financial Services (42%), Manufacturing (41%), and Health Care (38%) are expected to outperform the national average.

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Hot Areas for Hiring

Hiring for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) occupations will continue to be strong, with 31% of hiring managers planning to create jobs in these areas over the next 12 months, up from 26% last year. Looking at specific functions within an organization, positions tied to revenue growth, innovation, and customer loyalty will dominate in terms of new opportunities. Among employers planning to add full-time, permanent staff, the top five areas they are hiring for include:

1. Sales—36%
2. Customer Service—33%
3. Information Technology—26%
4. Production—26%
5. Administrative—22%

Companies also expect to add more headcount in emerging fields. Examples include:

• Cloud, mobile, or search technology
• Cyber security
• Managing and interpreting Big Data
• Alternative energy sources
• Antiterrorism
• Robotics

Temporary and Contract Hiring

Temporary employment is expected to pick up over the next 12 months as employers struggle to fill in-demand roles and strive to maintain more flexibility in their workforce. Forty-six percent of employers plan to hire temporary or contract workers in 2015, up 42% from last year. Of these employers, 56% plan to transition some temporary or contract workers into full-time, permanent roles.

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Hiring by Region

Confidence in hiring is consistent across regions, with the South reporting the biggest year-over-year increase (14 percentage points) in the amount of employers planning to add full-time, permanent staff. Thirty-six percent of employers in the South and West will recruit new full-time, permanent employees in 2015 followed by 35% of employers in the Northeast and Midwest. Eleven percent of employers in the West anticipate they will downsize staff, on par with last year and the highest percentage of all the regions.

Compensation in 2014

Wage growth has been largely stagnant postrecession, but greater employment demand may help to boost compensation at various levels within an organization. Eighty-two percent of employers plan to increase compensation for existing employees—up from 73% last year—while 64% will offer higher starting salaries for new employees—up from 49% last year. Sales and Information Technology professionals are the most likely to receive raises, though increases are expected for a variety of job functions.

In tomorrow’s Advisor, five trends CareerBuilder is forecasting for 2015, plus an introduction to the new best practices report from BambooHR and Officevibe, How to Create a Happy and Productive Culture.