* Study finds job market for execs and managers is improving
Unemployed executives and managers landed new work faster in the first quarter, according to research from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Challenger’s findings show that the job market for this group had its best showing since 2001.
The time it took job-seeking managers and executives to win new positions in the first quarter of 2005 was 3.16 months, down 5% from the fourth quarter of 2004. This median length of a job search is based on results from a quarterly survey of 3,000 discharged managers and executives in a mix of industries across the country.
The median job search for last quarter is lowest since the third quarter of 2001, when the median job search lasted 3.13 months. And it’s down from the first quarter of a year ago, when the median job search took 3.9 months.
Managers and execs not only found positions faster, but for the most part landed posts with equivalent or better pay. In a five-year high, 91.6% were able to win equal or better salaries. This is up from 85.8% in the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2004. And it’s the highest percentage since the first quarter of 2000, when 93.3% of job seekers were able to negotiate equivalent or better salaries.
However, the outplacement firm cautions that last quarter’s growth can’t yet be considered evidence of a true turnaround. “All of this is good news for job seekers, of course, but it is too early to tell if it is a lasting trend. There are signs now that the economy may be softening under the burden of higher energy prices and slowing demand for steel, due in part to a weak auto market,” says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
