Search firms report rising demand for staff in US
The number of executive searches underway in banking and financial services in North America jumped by 17% in the first quarter of 2002, compared to the last quarter of 2001, according to the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), the professional association for the industry.
The increase followed a year of quarterly declines and left the year-on-year figure showing a fall in demand of 10%.
Across all industries, newly booked searches by AESC member firms for North America showed a 23% rise in the first quarter, compared to the fourth quarter last year. The AESC regards trends in executive search as a 6-month leading indicator of business health.
Peter Felix, AESC president, said: "The first quarter of 2002 provides mild cause for optimism. Coming off the last quarter of 2001 when executive search experienced a dramatic slump to round off an already very poor year, an increase in search assignments of 23% is encouraging.
"Anecdotal evidence from our member firms suggests that business is firming up and that clients are approaching senior level hiring with more confidence."
