Strong seasonal hiring plans may presage year-end surge in economic activity

On October 25, CareerBuilder released its annual assessment of retailers’ hiring plans for the upcoming holiday season. Traditionally, this time of year brings a significant, but short-term, bump in employment as stores expand their staffs to handle extra traffic.

This year, the number of positions being added by employers is up considerably from last year’s figures, according to CareerBuilder’s report.

Harris Interactive surveyed more than 2,400 employers regarding their hiring plans to get the data. Thirty-six percent of respondents indicated that they plan to expand their workforce for the holiday season. This represents a 29 percent increase over 2011.

In addition, 39 percent of those conducting extra seasonal hiring intend to transition some of the new workers into permanent roles.

CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson linked the strong seasonal hiring plans with rising confidence and asserted that the season should see an overall surge in economic activity.

“An increase in consumer confidence is helping to fuel the best seasonal hiring the U.S. has seen in recent years,” said Ferguson. “While the bulk of seasonal recruitment falls within the retail space, companies across industries are hiring for a wide range of positions to support their business operations as they wrap up the year.”

Even a strong holiday season won’t eradicate economic uncertainty

We’ve recently discussed a number of other indications that the economy is strengthening. However, we have also discussed ongoing challenges confronting sustained global growth, including the fragile situation in the eurozone and the looming package of spending cuts and tax increases referred to as the “fiscal cliff” in the United States.

In this time of uncertainty, it is more crucial than ever that companies have sound fiscal expertise on their leadership teams. Filling CFO jobs and other high-level positions is always a delicate process, but in this tumultuous economic climate, it is clear companies do not have time to pour into a protracted financial professional search.

Recruitment firms can help businesses conduct a fast, effective search.