DM Employment Shows Slight Signs Of Improvement

The most recent direct marketing employment survey from Bernhart Associates Executive Search LLC contains a few faint glimmers of hope.

For the third quarter in a row, the number of companies reporting layoffs declined, and 20% of respondents anticipate adding staff during the summer, up from 16% of those surveyed during the spring. Only 8% anticipate layoffs, down from 13% during last quarter and 20% at the start of 2009.

Overall, the number of companies that reported hiring freezes held steady at 30%. Among direct marketing agencies, 44% said they didn’t anticipate filling new positions before the end of 2009.

"This is the first quarter in two years in which the hiring index is showing improvement, and planned layoffs are continuing their trend lower," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, in a statement.

The business to business marketplace appears to be more stable than its pure consumer brethren. When B-to-B marketers were asked whether they planned to reduce staff, 9% anticipated doing so, compared with 13% of consumer-focused direct marketers.

But better does not necessarily mean good.

"You can't stage a recovery with only one in five direct marketers planning to hire, and one-third of the others holding on to hiring freezes with no plans to lift them until at least the end of the year,” Bernhart added in a statement. “In my conversations with senior level executives, there is no consistent level of optimism in the current economic environment for them to jump into the employment market. I'm also seeing that same caution in executive search. Companies are telling us they're thinking about making staffing changes, but they are slow to pull the trigger.”

When respondents were broken out even further, B-to-B agencies had held up better than consumer-focused agencies since the downturn began, Bernhart told Direct Newsline. Conversely, consumer-focused DM agencies have fared worst, when compared to agencies, vendors or clients in both consumer and B-to-B spaces.

“Given where we’re at right now, I don’t see a significant comeback in hiring until the middle of 2010,” Bernhart said. “With so many hiring freezes on the books until the end of the year, it’s going to take time for companies to ramp up, even if [the freezes] are all lifted in January.”

A record 402 companies responded to the survey, which was emailed the week of June 22. Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with "Opt-In" in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates Web site.