Marketers' Employment Outlook Weakens For Remainder of 2011

Owatonna, MN, September 26, 2011—The sputtering US economy is impacting job prospects for digital and direct marketers, according to Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report for the fourth quarter of 2011.

“All three of our key employment indicators—new hiring, layoffs, and hiring freezes—have weakened slightly since our last survey in April,” said Jerry Bernhart, leading direct marketing recruiter and Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, which conducts the quarterly employment survey. “Despite this, overall employment levels remain strong in digital and direct marketing, and, in fact, many employers actually are telling us that they face challenges filling critical openings because of a shortage of qualified candidates.”

The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates’ quarter-four (Q4) survey:

• 40% of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q4, down from 45% six months ago and 52% at the beginning of the year.

• 20% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, up from 16% in the spring quarter.

• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q4 rose to 8%, compared with 4% six months ago.

• Marketers are reporting the most aggressive hiring plans, followed closely by service providers and then agencies. Bernhart added that not a single agency reported they’re expecting layoffs in the coming quarter, and business-to-consumer is slightly outpacing business-to-business in both new hiring and fewer hiring freezes for the remainder of 2011.

When asked what positions will be in greatest demand during the coming quarter, employers placed analytic-related jobs on top, followed by marketing, sales, creative, and IT.

“Overall, we’ve been seeing layoffs creep higher in recent months, and that is the most worrisome trend,” said Bernhart. “I’ve noticed that first-hand just from the jump in the number of resumes that have been coming into our office since the beginning of summer.”

Bernhart said that 61% of employers who responded indicated they were experiencing various degrees of difficulty attracting the right talent for their open positions. Among that group, when asked what was causing those challenges, they cited the following:

• 50% attributed it to a shortage of qualified candidates.

• 18% said candidates were looking for more compensation than was being offered.

• 18% cited lack of specific job skills or technical skills.

• 10% blamed relocation obstacles.

“Employers offered plenty of anecdotal observations in connection with this question, and several pointed out that as fewer people have been tasked with doing more, there is a growing need for people who offer multiple areas of expertise,” said Bernhart.

“On the surface, it seems paradoxical that positions are going empty with the US jobless rate as high as it is,” Bernhart observed. “But if there were a national unemployment figure for digital and direct marketers it would probably be half that for the overall economy. Most digital and direct marketers are working, and in this economy they’re just as leery about leaving their jobs as employers are selective about filling theirs.”

Bernhart Associates’ Q4 hiring survey was emailed on September 12 and 20 to more than 11,000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 398 organizations responded to the nationally followed employment-trends survey, which is now in its eleventh year.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2010, marketers—commercial and nonprofit—spent $153.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.2% of all advertising expenditures in the United States. Measured against total U.S. sales, these ad expenditures generated approximately $1.8 trillion in incremental sales. In 2010, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total U.S. gross domestic product. Also, in 2010 there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the U.S. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.8 million U.S. jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the DMA’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and 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 front page of the digital and direct marketing recruiting firm’s website.



Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

Bernhart Associates Employment Survey Released: 2011 Starts Off Strong, Hiring to Rebound

Owatonna, MN, January 18, 2011—Digital and direct marketers are planning a surge in hiring this winter with agencies leading the way, according to Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report for the first quarter of 2011.

“I expected a bounce, but nothing like this, which is very encouraging,” said Jerry Bernhart, leading direct marketing recruiter and Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, which conducts the quarterly employment survey. “This is the most positive quarterly improvement we’ve ever seen in the 11-year history of our quarterly survey.”

The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates’ Quarter 1 (Q1) survey:

• Fifty-two percent (52%) of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q1, up from 41% last quarter (Q4).

• Sixteen percent (16%) of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, down sharply from 35% in Q4.

• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q1 dropped to 4%, compared with 8% in Q4.

• Sixty-three percent (63%) of agencies responding to the survey plan to add staff, with none planning cutbacks and only one agency reporting a hiring freeze.

Survey results show that marketing hiring budgets are still being pinched on the client side, which are lagging the agencies and service providers in planned hiring. But Bernhart notes that nearly one out of every two marketers still will have positions to fill in the current quarter.

“Business-to-business hiring plans outpaced business-to-consumer, and also reported fewer expected layoffs and hiring freezes,” added Bernhart.

Bernhart said that while direct marketing may not reach the boom levels seen prior to 2008, he expects hiring to continue building momentum in 2011, noting the following key trends:

- Digital and direct marketers are revising upward their projections for 2011 as margins improve and demand picks up, creating the need for more headcount.

- The number of online digital and direct marketing-related job listings has been up sharply in the past couple months.

- Bernhart Associates, a nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiting firm, has seen a “dramatic” decline in the number of resumes from recently laid-off digital and direct marketers.

-Bernhart further noted that he is fielding more calls from companies asking about executive searches, adding, “you don’t see that happen unless job recovery is taking hold.”

Among those companies planning to add staff, Bernhart said digital and direct marketing openings will be across the board and at all levels. “Usually we see a couple of job categories stand out, but this time it’s very broad-based with marketing, analytics, and sales topping the list, along with a strong showing among IT-related positions.”

Bernhart Associates’ Q1 hiring survey was emailed on January 5 and 12 to more than 11,000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 399 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, marketers—commercial and nonprofit—spent $149.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.3% of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total U.S. sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.783 trillion in incremental sales. DMA further reported that, in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the U.S. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million American jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the DMA’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and 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’ website.

# # #

About Bernhart Associates

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker. Founded in 1991, Bernhart Associates today recruits for positions at all levels in Multichannel Direct Marketing, CRM, E-Commerce, Database Marketing, Business Development, and Marketing Analytics. Respected as a leading authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting, Jerry is a frequent speaker at national marketing conferences and is often quoted by the industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for the leading online and offline multichannel marketing publications.

The Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Survey, now in its eleventh year, has become the most widely followed employment report in digital and direct marketing and measures employers’ hiring plans for the coming quarter. It is the only forward-looking employment survey of its kind in digital and direct marketing and unparalleled in size and scope.

Bernard Silverman and Affiliates, Naperville, IL, contributes research and analysis for the Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com.

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the Bernhart Associates’ Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

# # #

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

Bernhart Associates' Q4 Employment Survey Released: Hiring Indicators Hold Steady

Owatonna, MN, October 6, 2010 --- If you're a digital or direct marketer looking for employment don't expect much of a change during the rest of 2010, according to Bernhart Associates' latest Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report.

"The index we watch most closely , the one that measures new hiring plans, is crawling back up, so we are definitely moving in the right direction," said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC and one of the nation's leading direct marketing recruiters. "At the same time, though, many digital and direct marketers continue to face strong economic headwinds, and some are being forced to consider more layoffs and hiring freezes to get headcount to where it needs to be for 2011."

The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates' Quarter 4 (Q4) survey:

• Forty-one percent (41%) of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q4, up from 39% last quarter.

• Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, up from 23% in Q3.

• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q4 rose to 8%, compared with 6% last quarter.

• Most of the new hiring is coming from business-to-business (B-to-B) service providers, with nearly one-half of those respondents reporting plans to add to staff during Q4.

'This will be the third straight quarter in which planned B-to-B hiring has outpaced B-to-C", Bernhart said.

Bernhart also noted that since results are not seasonally adjusted, it's not unusual to see a spike in hiring freezes as the year draws to a close.
" A lot of companies have completed their hiring for 2010, and will re-assess their needs come the new year," said Bernhart.

Among those companies planning to add to staff, marketing-related
positions will be in greatest demand for the remainder of 2010, followed by I.T. "In fact, the marketing and technical job categories far outnumbered positions in analytics, account management and sales, which in recent years have consistently been at or near the top of this list", Bernhart pointed out.

Bernhart also noted that the importance of data reveals itself in the titles of two soon-to-be-filled positions, each of them called simply "Data Expert".

Bernhart Associates’ Q4 hiring survey was emailed to more than 10,000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 369 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey between September 23 and October 4, 2010.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and 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’ website.

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

Bernhart Unemployment Survey Released: Direct Marketers Facing Longer Unemployment

Owatonna, MN, August 24, 2010---The job outlook for unemployed direct marketers has sharply deteriorated since last summer, according to a new study by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a leading digital and direct marketing executive search firm.

"In Summer 2009, we asked unemployed direct marketers how long they had been looking for a job," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates. "We decided to ask that same question one year later. Like last year we broke down the results by levels of compensation, and for the first time we've segmented results by age."

The survey focused on respondents who said they are currently unemployed and are actively searching for a full-time direct marketing position. The survey's results, therefore, exclude those who are looking only for part-time work, currently employed, or unemployed but only passively looking.

Here are the 2010 survey's key findings:

• Nearly one-third of respondents said they have been looking for a direct marketing-related position for more than 18 months.

• The median length of unemployment among direct marketers is 12.0 months, nearly twice the 6.5-month figure of one year ago.

• Older, higher-paid workers face much longer search times than their younger, lower-paid colleagues.

• The survey reveals that generally the best odds of finding a direct marketing job are either in the first three months, or between 7 and 9 months.

According to Bernhart Associates' 2010 survey, 21% of unemployed respondents said they have been actively looking for a full-time direct marketing job between 1 and 3 months. Twelve percent (12%) said their search has lasted from 4 to 6 months, 9% said they have been looking for between 7 and 9 months, and 10% percent said they have been on the job hunt 10-12 months. The remainder, 48%, has been looking for more than a year.

When the results were broken down by salary, Bernhart said the survey reveals that lower-paid direct marketing job seekers are experiencing only slightly more success finding jobs more quickly than those in the higher-salary brackets.

However, when broken down by age, Bernhart said the differences are more dramatic. "In the 30 to 39 age bracket, all respondents said they had been searching for a new job for less than one year," he said. "But those between 50 and 59, half have been looking for more than a year. And if you are older than 60, you can pretty much expect to be looking for at least 18 months."

Bernhart pointed out that survey results are consistent with the challenges facing the overall U.S. labor market. "In July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nationwide median length of unemployment was 22.2 weeks, or approximately 5 months. While that is significantly less than the median for direct marketers, many direct marketing-related job categories require more specialized knowledge, more training, and higher levels of educational attainment than other jobs that fall into the unskilled labor category."

A total of 448 individuals responded to the random survey, which was emailed the week of August 16 to more than 9,000 direct marketers across the country.

Rather than wait another year, Bernhart said he will repeat the Unemployment Search Survey in about six months in order to track changes.

Bernhart announced that his quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Hiring Survey for the fourth quarter will be emailed out in the end of September. The third quarter report showed declines in all key employment indicators, reversing an upward trend during the first half of 2010.

Employers who would like to participate in the next Employment Survey should send an email with the subject "Opt-In" to survey@bernhart.com, or they can sign up on the Bernhart Associates website.

Latest Bernhart Hiring Survey: Hiring Indicators Weaken for Digital and Direct Marketin in Third Quarter

Owatonna, MN, July 13, 2010 — Weakening economic signals are having their effect on the employment outlook for digital and direct marketers in the third quarter (Q3), according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC.

"The numbers have turned slightly lower for Q3, which is no surprise given growing uncertainties about the economic recovery," said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a nationally leading recruiting firm, which has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys in digital and direct marketing since 2001.

Here are the key findings from the Q3 survey:

• 39% of survey respondents said they will add to staff during the third quarter of 2010, down 4 points from Q2.
• 23% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, representing a slight increase from 20% last quarter.
• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q3 grew to 6%, compared with 3% during the spring quarter.

Bernhart said survey data reflect a mood of continued caution.

"One-half of all respondents said their hiring plans won't be changing this summer, and most of the hiring will be replacements rather than newly created positions," said Bernhart. "I've also noticed an uptick in calls to our office from individuals who have recently been laid off."

But for some digital and direct marketing categories at certain levels, Bernhart said opportunities are out there.

"There's a huge demand for skilled analysts, and we're also seeing a solid comeback in lower-level online marketing-related positions, including SEM and SEO managers, affiliate and relationship managers, and email marketing managers," said Bernhart. He added that media buyers also appeared high on the list of positions expected to be in short-term demand.

Bernhart said the data also point to an upswing in the business-to-business segment. "B-to-B is planning more hires, less layoffs, and has fewer hiring freezes than B-to-C. Those same indices for agencies, suppliers, and marketers all showed little variation."

Bernhart Associates’ third-quarter survey was emailed to more than 11,500 senior executives and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 419 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey between June 29 and July 12.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and 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’ website.

About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker focusing on senior-level Multichannel Direct Marketing, E-Marketing/E-Commerce, CRM, Database Marketing, Business Development and Quantitative Analysis positions. Jerry has been among the nation’s leading digital and direct marketing recruiters since 1991.

Viewed as a leading authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting and talent management, Jerry is a frequent speaker at national digital and direct marketing conferences and is often quoted in the marketing industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for all leading online and offline direct marketing publications, and conducts a widely followed employment survey for EM+C covering internet marketing and e-commerce.

The Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report, now in its tenth year, is unparalleled in size and scope and has become the most widely followed employment report in online and offline marketing.

Bernard (Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates of Naperville, IL, contributes research and analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

Communications Contact:
Doug Berger
Douglas Berger Communications
212-262-1168
douglasbergernyc@gmail.com

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com