A Good Sign of Growth

Job Market Fluctuations

As a professional recruiter, I’d like to think I have a good feel for the job market. Every day I look at job postings, help wanted ads, networking sites and professional magazines (on line and paper). I see ups and downs and trends and flows of various jobs. I know when a company is growing and when they are shrinking. I hear from the job seekers about wonderful places to work and not so wonderful places to work.

A few months ago I saw an influx of staffing and recruiting firms appear overnight into an industry that had been somewhat quieter in this economy. Some of them popped up in January and were closed by March. If you’re not in the recruiting industry it’s easy to assume this is an easy way to make a ton of money. If you are in the recruiting industry you know better. And if you opened and closed in three months you really know better.

Early Signs of Recovery

I have noticed something recently though. I was afraid to mention it, in case I scare it away, but more frequently I am seeing openings in Human Resources. More specifically there are more openings for Talent Acquisition and Inside Recruiters for a variety of companies.

I’ve never seen this written up as a formal economic indicator for potential job growth. And, while I am not an economist myself, this seems to me to be a very good sign.

When a company is getting ready to grow, one of the first things they need is a strong internal human resources department. This includes people who can find the talented employees they need to in order to grow…and do it quickly and efficiently.

So while I continue to see negative news on the job front, one of my own personal indicators of good things to come is this increase in human resources openings. My fingers are crossed that I’m right!