Welcome to RIjobs.com

Work Closer. Work Happier.

Rhode Island jobs get a boost from local business

Posted on October 7, 2011

Rhode Island jobs may be climbing, according to a new survey.

Caution and seasonality are influencing hiring expectations for the fourth quarter as employers assess ongoing barriers to economic growth and wrap up 2011. This is according to CareerBuilder’s latest nationwide survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals conducted by Harris Interactive from August 16 to September 8, 2011.

Consistent with trends typically seen at the tail end of the calendar, employers anticipate a moderate slowdown in hiring. Twenty-one percent of hiring managers reported that they plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in Q4, down from Q3, but on par with 2010.

Employers also report they are hiring for Long Island jobs.
The tempered plans for Q4 follow a slightly softer recruitment picture in Q3. In terms of actual hiring, 26 percent of employers reported they added full-time, permanent headcount in Q3. While better than the same period in 2010, this is down three percentage points from Q2 2011 – reflecting a more hesitant hiring environment in the face of rising commodity prices, a volatile stock market, concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis and other global issues.

“While hiring is historically slower in the fourth quarter, recent world events and a structurally impaired U.S. economy are causing employers to be a little more guarded,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Job creation levels are not yet high enough to drive down the unemployment rate, but the hiring trends we’ve seen through our surveys and on our job site still indicate an overall positive sentiment among employers. For eight consecutive quarters, 20 percent or more of employers reported adding new jobs and the same is expected for Q4.”

More than one-in-four hiring managers (26 percent) reported they hired full-time, permanent staff in the third quarter, up slightly from 25 percent last year, but down from 29 percent in Q2. While staff reductions slightly improved year-over-year – 11 percent reporting a decrease in headcount in Q3 2011 compared to 12 percent in 2010 – it was unchanged sequentially. Sixty-two percent of employers reported their staff levels stayed the same in Q3 while 1 percent were unsure.

Mystic River Press
Sun Chronicle
Johnston Sunrise
Cranston Herald
Sakonnet Times
Portsmouth Times
The Express