With the current state of the economy, it’s important to keep track of important economic indicators such as the employment situation across the country. The national unemployment rate for July, released earlier this month, was unchanged at 9.5%. At first glace, this seems to be a very good sign as it looks in recent months that the unemployment rate is beginning to fall.

However, when you break down the numbers the situation is much trickier than first perceived.  While the national average remains unchanged, employers cut 131,000 jobs in July with 14 states reporting an increase from June’s unemployment numbers. Additionally, 11 states posted rates of 10% unemployment or higher, though this is a decrease from 18 states in June. Currently, Nevada boasts the highest unemployment rate at 14.3% with North Dakota at the lower end at 3.6%. In general, the Midwest seems to be doing better than the country as a whole with unemployment rates well below the national average.

Another important employment indicator is weekly initial jobless claims. Jobless claims is the number of people filing new unemployment insurance claims, released every Thursday. Last week, jobless claims rose to 500,000. This continues a recently upward trend in jobless claims, indicating weakness in the labor market. However, it is important to note that this is still well below the highs of the recent recession.

The employment numbers are sending mixed signals to the public. While national unemployment is steady, the economy lost jobs last month. Yet fewer states are reporting rates over 10%. Jobless claims increased again for the 4th straight week, but is still well below last year’s numbers. Overall, the employment situations looks to be improving, but there is still severe weakness in the economy.

Marina Gurland
Recruiting Coordinator – Legal Division

Some of you may have heard the term “The 99ers” being used to describe unemployed people who have used the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits the government allows per person in this country. The previous high for number of weeks allowed for unemployment benefits was 55 weeks in the early 1980’s.

Many Americans have exhausted the 99 weeks of benefits during this recession. Many of these same people are asking for more, claiming the economy is so bad that they are unable to find employment in this time frame. The obvious question is whether or not 99 weeks is enough. That is almost two years of unemployment benefits. Many jobless people claim that they aren’t being hired for jobs they are over-qualified for.

If you were an executive before the recession and were forced to work at Walmart, would you do it? This is a deep issue that can be argued from many different perspectives. Each person in this country has a different situation that they live in and deal with on a daily basis. We are in the worst recession since the great depression. There are roughly 15,000,000 unemployed people in this country, battling for about 3,000,000 open jobs. The odds are obviously leaning quite heavily towards people remaining unemployed.

What do you think? Is 99 weeks an adequate amount of time to find a job in this economy? Take the poll on our home page!

  Michael Denny
  Interactive Resources

New York, August 2010 -  The Execu|Search Group today announced that it is celebrating its twenty-fifth year providing recruitment, temporary/consulting and retained search services to the City of New York and the Tri-State Area.

On August 1, 1985, The Execu|Search Group was founded as a recruitment firm focused on serving accounting firms, boutique hedge funds, and private equity funds. Over time, the firm evolved into a full-service Recruitment, Temporary/Consulting, and Retained Search firm, servicing several practice areas in the City of New York and the Tri-State Area.

“I am proud to celebrate this milestone as it represents our resilience in an ever-changing marketplace,” said Edward Fleischman, CEO of The Execu|Search Group. “I credit this landmark achievement to our people: our staff, clients and candidates over the past twenty five years; and to our unique ability to find and provide the highest caliber talent available.”

Originally a one-man office in Manhattan, The Execu|Search Group now employs 115 people who work out of the firm’s New York City Headquarters and three additional offices in Bridgewater and Parsippany, New Jersey, and Purchase, New York. A cutting-edge leader in the recruiting industry, The Execu|Search Group was the first regional firm to have an interactive website for job seekers, and is now spearheading the industry with its use of social media.

“The Execu|Search Group is moving forward with a focus on further expansion along the northeastern corridor,” said Fleischman. “We look at the past with pride and look forward to The Execu|Search Group having another successful 25 years of growth.”

Recently, a job seeker asked us an interesting question…

Q: Which one is better? To resign or to be laid-off? I’m hearing different things from different people…

Alison, a Managing Director at our firm, suggests the following:

A: In a competitive job market like the one we are in, it is always best to raise as few red flags as possible with regard to your job history. If an employee is not happy in their current situation, I always recommend to stay at your current job, until such time as you are able to secure a better opportunity for yourself. Even given the amount of lay-offs that have occurred in the past 18 months, the employed candidates always has an easier time getting interviews, and had less to explain as to job history.

If things are so dire that you have to leave your current place, then do so professionally, without burning bridges. This would include giving an appropriate notice period and making every effort to make yourself available to train the individuals that will assuming your job responsibilities. If you take these steps and act accordingly, you should be able to obtain a written reference from your employer prior to your last day which will help you land interviews and alleviate any potential red flags.

   Alison Kupersmith, CPA
   Managing Director- Accounting/Finance

Today’s economic realities have created a “buyer’s” job market can be tricky to navigate.  Employers want to hire executives who can effectively perform the functions of a C-Level position.  However, employers are also wary of hiring someone who has been downsized or laid off, and who have expensive salary requirements.

As a retained recruiter, one of the questions I am frequently asked by potential C-level candidates is, “Why wouldn’t the company I recently interviewed with hire me at a lower salary than I previously made if I bring such great skills to the table?”  The answer is easy.  Companies are reluctant to hire talent at a lower salary because they fear the candidate will leave them as soon as the market turns around.  Decision makers may think you will eventually get bored, or worse, take their job.  Here are some practical tips to address this issue:

• During the interview, make sure you are prepared to explain what it is about the position that makes it so desirable to you besides compensation (picking up skills or experiences you have not previously had, rapid company growth that would allow for promotions in the future, the companies reputation in the industry, etc.)
• Let them know you will work hard at the new job, and preempt the argument by letting them know towards the beginning of the interview that you will not leave for a higher paying position as the market rebounds, based on your other motivations for seeking the position.
• Explain to your prospective employer that you will bring a short learning curve to the table.  You will be able to produce from day one.
• During the interview, talk about your accomplishments, and don’t be shy about discussing how you improved ROI, or saved your previous employer money.  This will motivate the employer to dig deeper and come up with a compensation package that is more commensurate with your actual worth.
• Let the employer know that although you have a lot of experience, you will also be taking on new responsibilities that will make the job both challenging and rewarding.
• At some point in the interview, interject that you are a team player and have glowing references from your previous bosses.  Make a point to mention how well you get along with co-workers, and have an example of a successful project that you completed based on teamwork. 
• Make sure to convey that you have always been loyal to the people you report to, it is in your DNA.  Subtly reference an example of how you made your former boss look good.
• If the employer persists that you have too much skill for the position, ask them to describe the perfect candidate.  They will most likely be describing you, and you can play to this in the interview.
• At the end of the interview, ask for the job.

Follow these tips, and it will help to defuse any preconceived notions of why the employer should not hire you.  On the flip side, I have some clients who are attracted to candidates who bring lots of experience to the table, and who have traditionally made more than the employer is offering.  Although rare, in some cases the employer may feel they are getting a deal.

  Dwight Scott
  Director- Retained Search

Everyday I speak with financial services professionals concerned about economic health and the presence, or lack there of, of the job market. There is one question I hear day-in and day-out: “Is the job market getting better?”

Short answer: Absolutely!

The market appears weak because of the massive competition- great opportunities may come and go before you even hear about them. Thankfully for you talented job seekers with an accounting background, it is most certainly an accountant’s market at the moment. Accountants, whether they are coming straight out of Public, going back into Public, entry-level, industry specific CFO’s, Fund Accountants, Auditors, Product Controllers, or Tax professionals, have been seeing a dramatic increase in the volume of opportunities in certain industries. CPA’s – You’re in luck…..and in demand!

The majority of my work is within Financial Services, and there has been a clear positive shift in demand for talented accountants of all sorts. That being said, it is also a buyer’s market and companies who actually have the head count are being ultra specific about what they want and whom they’ll meet. Fair enough. I suppose that as long as there actually ARE jobs out there, we can all feel a touch better about where this fickle economy is heading.

Happy hunting!

   Glenn Jordi
   Accounting/Finance & Financial Services

Yes, you read correctly. In a recent Washington Post article, Blue Chip, White Cotton; What Men’s Underwear Says about the Economy, one research firm claims it has the ability to forecast the state of the economy based on the sale of men’s underwear. The theory is that men prolong purchasing underwear when the economy is bad- therefore causing a dip in sales (sales of mens underwear are usually stable because it is a needed product). Once you start seeing an increase in sales again, the “Men’s Underwear Index” can be considered a positive economic indicator.

Do you think this is possible? What other sales index could be representative of the overall economy?