Recruiters Bullish on Second Half of 2009

June 22, 2009 – Sixty-four percent of executive recruiters hold a neutral to positive outlook for the search industry for the second half of 2009, according to the recent Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC)’s global survey. “Following a crisis of this severity a neutral to positive outlook from AESC firms is most encouraging,” said AESC president Peter Felix. “Our members have been badly affected by the hiatus in hiring at the senior level but are ready to help those clients now re-entering the market to both upgrade their senior staff and to invest for the future.” Mr. Felix said that for the first time since October the global recruiting sector is beginning to see evidence of movement in the senior executive market. “ It was only a matter of time before boards of directors and top management took action to ensure that they have the right leadership in place to not only weather the recession but to prepare for growth and competitiveness once the recession is over,” he added. Sectors experiencing significant improvements were consumer goods and services and life sciences/healthcare, followed by energy/natural resources. The general management, finance and sales and marketing functions were also highly rated in terms of improved demand and future activity.