The unemployment rates in 2010 have been the highest in well over twenty years. It has been a difficult year for the unemployed who have had trouble finding a position in their field. With many mass layoffs by United States based companies, the job market has become extremely competitive. There have been a record number of applications for many open positions, which makes it difficult to land a career in your specialized field.
However, stronger employment trends are expected in 2011. Harris Interactive conducted a survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers and human resource specialists. The results of this survey concluded that more employers plan to add more full-time employees in 2011 than in 2010. Job creation will be gradual, but steady, so the change in hiring may not become immediately apparent. Matt Ferguson of CareerBuilder explains that, “More than half of employers reported they are in a better financial position today than they were one year ago.” This is a good improvement and will allow these companies to hire more employees in 2011.
The results of the survey showed that 24% of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent in employees in 2011. This is an improvement from the 20% who said they plan to hire in 2010, and 14% in 2009. 13% of employers said they expect to hire part-time employees in 2011, which is up from 11% in 2010 and 9% in 2009.
Some fields will be in higher demand during 2011 than others. The top 10 fields can be seen below:
1) Sales – 27 percent
2) Information Technology – 26 percent
3) Customer Service – 25 percent
4) Engineering – 21 percent
5) Technology – 19 percent
6) Administrative – 17 percent
7) Business Development – 17 percent
8 ) Marketing – 17 percent
9) Research/Development – 15 percent
10) Accounting/Finance – 14 percent
"Stronger Employment Trends Expected for the New Year, According to CareerBuilder’s 2011 Job Forecast." ShareBuilder (2010): n. pag. Web. 26 Jan 2011. <http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=pr611&sd=12/29/2010&ed=12/31/2010>.
