PRESS RELEASES

NPAworldwide Members Predict Hiring Uptick

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, USA – March 2, 2021 – NPAworldwide, a global recruitment network, announced the results of its twice-annual Business Barometer Survey. The survey is completed by the independent recruitment firm owners who NPAworldwide members. Members are asked to document business results and predict future results that are representative of the independent recruitment industry.

“Business conditions over the last 180 days have been difficult for most. About 50 percent of those responding said results were worse than a similar period in 2019/2020,” said Dave Nerz, president of NPAworldwide. “The bounce is just ahead based on nearly 88 percent of members forecasting similar or improved market conditions in the next 180 days. This is the first large, positive trend since prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Other results of this survey of the 570-plus independent members of NPAworldwide indicated:

• 39 percent of survey respondents are from outside of North America.
• North American represented 61% of respondents, with the next largest respondent group from Australia/New Zealand at 17 percent of the total.
• The remaining respondents were from Asia, EMEA or LATAM.
• 67% reported business as the same or worse over the prior 180 days than a year ago at the same time.
• At the time of the survey, 88% of the respondents had a positive outlook for results over the next 6 months.
• 13% of those taking the survey have seen fees increase in the last 6 months.

“NPAworldwide members view the manufacturing/supply chain sector and the technology sector as the strongest vertical market segments for recruitment. Our independent member firms working these segments are expecting continued positive results in the coming months,” said Nerz. “Recruitment has been very challenging over the last 12 months. The move to work-from-home and limited availability of in-person interviewing has added to the complexity of a recovery. Client assignments offered to independent recruiters continue to be the most difficult positions employers are working to fill. Many employers have returned to the task of finding and hiring great talent, but the speed of hiring is being extended by complex interview procedures and a more deliberate selection process.”

About NPAworldwide. NPAworldwide is a global recruitment network facilitating placements between its members. The network has more than 550 member offices across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.npaworldwide.com or www.npaworldwideworks.com.