ExecuNet’s latest Recruiter Confidence Index showed a dip in September, as executive search firms tempered their expectations for job growth in the months ahead.
According to the September survey of 161 executive recruiters, 49% are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve in the next six months, down from 53% in August and 64% at the end of the second quarter.
The ExecuNet team says executive-level job growth has remained “remarkably resilient in the face of several economic headwinds” this year.
For example, for the first time since the last recession, the Recruiter Confidence Index has settled below 50% — a sign that recruiters are seeing more potential for contraction than expansion in the market.
Though the Index suggests pockets of growth in some sectors of the economy, ExecuNet says the search industry’s outlook is becoming more bearish.