Bernhart Survey: DM Job Outlook Optimistic
Job prospects for direct marketers continue to look positive entering the second half of the year, the latest employment survey by Bernhart Associates Executive Search found."The closely followed new hire index remains at its highs for 2005 while the percentage of companies planning cutbacks in staff has fallen to 2 percent, the lowest level since the survey began in 2001," said Jerry Bernhart of Bernhart Associates Executive Search LLC, Owatonna, MN, which conducts the survey quarterly.
Among the companies responding, 70 percent said they plan to add to staff in the third quarter compared with 66 percent last quarter.
Employers said they plan new hires across various categories including analytics, account management, copywriting and marketing.
"Analytics has been consistently leading the way for the past year," Bernhart said. "Tools and software are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it takes people with technical skills to use and implement them."
The third-quarter outlook also reveals that 10 percent of the companies responding have hiring freezes, which is little changed from the start of the year.
One hundred fourteen direct marketing companies including agencies, suppliers and end users responded to the survey, which was e-mailed the week of July 11. Survey results are published in the Direct Marketing Association's Statistical Fact Book.
Companies interested in being added to the quarterly survey should send an e-mail to survey@bernhart.com with "opt-in" in the subject line.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
