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Rising demand for executives to mean more money

Posted on 19. Apr, 2005 by Bill in Employment News

Rising demand for executives to mean more money

With demand for corporate executives on the rise, it will take more money to get high-ranking employees to switch jobs this year, according to a report released Monday.

In 2004, demand for executives increased by 12 percent, according to employment search firms surveyed by ExecuNet, a Norwalk, Conn.-based provider of services for executives and executive recruiters.

The rise marks the first increase in demand for executives in several years. In 2003, search assignments for executives dropped 4 percent, following a 20 percent decline in 2002 and a 17 percent decline in 2001.

This year, search assignments for corporate executives are expected to rise to as high as 23 percent, according to the search firms surveyed.

ExecuNet, which has been collecting data for 13 years on demand for executive jobs, interviewed 1,489 executives and 223 search firms and corporate recruiters. The survey was conducted online in January.

Meanwhile, executive job searchers expect to be paid more for switching jobs this year.

Employed executives said they expect a pay increase of about 4.8 percent to take on a new job this year, compared with expectations for a 1 percent raise to do the same in 2004.

Unemployed executives said they would accept a 1 percent pay decrease for a new job in 2005, compared with the average acceptance of a 6 percent pay cut reported in last year’s survey.

Perhaps this is because fewer executives surveyed said they plan to leave their current positions this year compared with last year. Seventy-seven percent of employed executives surveyed said they plan to leave their job in the next six months, compared with 94 percent who said the same in 2004.

The top reason for wanting to switch jobs this year, at 17 percent, was lack of challenge or personal growth, followed by limited advancement opportunities at 16 percent, and poor company culture at 13 percent.

Only 12 percent of respondents pointed to compensation as the reason for searching for a new job.

The health-care industry is expected to lead demand for executives this year, followed by the medical industry, which includes pharmaceutical and biotech firms; the financial-services industry; business services; and high-tech companies.

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Tags: Employment News