The local job market is showing modest signs of recovery. Staffing and recruiting experts said they are seeing an improvement over last year, with new jobs opening up in mid-to-large companies. However, many small businesses ”“ the backbone of the economy ”“remain cash-strapped and are not yet ready to add any significant number of new jobs.
Overall, local staffing agencies said they are seeing a modest increase in new hiring. Another trend some noticed is an increase in temporary, “temp-to-hire” positions, which one HR professional described as “a working interview.”
“I don”™t think there will be a major increase in hiring this year. There will be a little bit of increase this year,” said Richard Greenwald, president of White Plains-based Concorde Staffing Group. Private equity and hedge funds hiring has picked up as well as hiring for banking, finance and insurance, health care and office support, he said.
On the whole, Greenwald said, companies are getting more confident that their businesses are not going to close and they are beginning to think about how they are going to expand. “Their confidence level is at a point where, if they are not hiring new employees, they are at least thinking about it.”
Jason Witty is a White Plains-based metro-market manager for Robert Half International. He said he”™s seeing an increase in local hiring in several areas including health care, beverage, non-profit, construction and financial services. “Local employers are certainly feeling more confident about their business prospects.”
Witty said he”™s seeing some companies hiring for spring-cleaning projects. These include data entry and administrative projects that were neglected during the downturn. “Many of these have piled up and must now be tended to,” Witty said. “They need data entry specialists, as well as clerical workers for many of these projects. Other temporary positions we”™re seeing a demand for include HR professionals to hire and train additional staff, as well as customer service representatives.”
He said some companies that aren”™t yet ready to hire on a full-time basis are bringing in temps to keep important projects on track while they evaluate long-term staffing needs. “The job market remains extremely competitive, so employers have their pick of a lot of talented applicants.”
”˜Temp-to-hire”™ positions
Another staffing agency said many employers are not yet ready to make permanent staffing decisions and are seeking long-term temporary and temp-to-hire workers.
Allison Madison, president at Reinhard-Madison Approach Staffing in White Plains, said overall job placements at her agency were probably up 35 to 40 percent in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of last year. But she said much of that growth was long-term temporary or temp-to-hire positions. “A lot of companies are still very hesitant to commit to a permanent placement,” she said. “I haven”™t seen a large increase in direct hires.
“It”™s still a very challenging market for job seekers because there”™s a lot of competition. And because there”™s a lot of competition, it”™s a very slow time to hire because companies are still a little trigger-shy.”
Madison also noted that many small businesses are still recovering from the downturn and are not yet ready to add new employees. In Westchester, around 90 percent of companies have 50 or fewer employees, a number that is some 10 percent higher than the national figure. “So a vast majority of businesses in Westchester are small businesses. And many of them are still struggling,” Madison said.
“My sense is that those companies are still cash-strapped. It”™s also a credit issue because they are unable to secure credit to grow the business ”“ a lot of them now want to grow their business but don”™t have the cash to do so,” she said. “So I am seeing growth in jobs in mid-to-large companies as far as the actual jobs because they have access to more money. I am seeing much more growth in the mid-sized sector.”
HR job market recovers
The job market for HR professionals has been improving this year. Nik Kumar, director of admissions at Manhattanville College”™s School of Graduate and Professional Studies in Purchase, said that an increasing number of employers are showing an interest in hiring at all levels including entry-level jobs and internships for those looking to enter the HR field.
On March 30, Manhattanville College hosted its inaugural HR jobs fair, with 200 attendees and 15 exhibitors including Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Northern Westchester Hospital, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Northwestern Mutual.
Danielle Martin, president of Westchester Human Resource Management Association and one of the participants at Manhattanville”™s job fair, said she has noticed an increase in positions within all levels of HR. There has also been an increase in “temp-to-perm” positions, she said.
“I think employers are being cautiously optimistic about hiring, so one option is to bring you on as a temp. This serves two purposes. First, there is no commitment to a permanent position and second, this is a working interview for the employer.”
