2012 U.S. Job ForecaSt

The hiring outlook for 2012 remains cautiously optimistic. Employers expect to add new jobs in the New Year, but are waiting to see how the economy shapes up before turning up the volume on hiring, according to a nationwide survey by CareerBuilder. Nearly one-in-four hiring managers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012, similar to 2011. Employment trends among small businesses, which account for the majority of job creation in the U.S., are expected to show some improvement over last year. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive© from November 9 to December 5, 2011, included more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

“Historically, our surveys have shown that employers are more conservative in their predictions than actual hiring,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Barring any major economic upsets, we expect 2012 to bring a better hiring picture than 2011 especially in the second half of the year. Many companies have been operating lean and have already pushed productivity limits. We’re likely to see gradual improvements in hiring across categories as companies respond to increased market demands.”

Totals may not equal 100 percent due to rounding or the ability to choose more than one response.

2012 Job Forecast | 1

Full-time, Permanent Hiring
Twenty-three percent of employers surveyed plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012, relatively unchanged from 24 percent for 2011 and up from 20 percent for 2010. Seven percent expect to decrease headcount in 2012, the same as for 2011 and an improvement from 9 percent for 2010. Fifty-nine percent anticipate no change in their staff levels while 11 percent are unsure.

Does your company, at your location, plan to increase, decrease or make no change to its number of full-time, permanent employees in all of 2012 compared to 2011?

Small Business Hiring
Small businesses are reporting more confidence in both hiring and retaining headcount in 2012. Plans to downsize dropped two percentage points across small business segments while plans to hire increased two percentage points among companies with 50 or fewer employees.
• 50 or fewer employees – 16 percent plan to add full-time,

Expected increases and decreases in full-time, permanent staff in 2012 compared to 2011 among small businesses

permanent staff in 2012, up from 14 percent for 2011; those reducing headcount fell from 5 percent for 2011 to 3 percent for 2012
• 250 or fewer employees – 20 percent plan to add full-time,

permanent staff, up from 19 percent for 2011; those reducing headcount fell from 6 percent for 2011 to 4 percent for 2012
• 500 or fewer employees – 21 percent plan to add full-time,

permanent staff, on par with 2011; those reducing headcount fell from 6 percent for 2011 to 4 percent for 2012

Hiring By Region
Regional data presents a mixed picture. Similar to annual forecasts for the last two years, more employers in the West plan to recruit new employees in 2012 than other regions. Twenty-four percent of employers in the West reported they plan to add full-time, permanent headcount, followed closely by the South and Midwest at 23 percent and the Northeast at 21 percent. However, the West also houses the highest number of companies planning to downsize in 2012 (9 percent) – reflecting a blend of both optimism and uncertainty seen across regions. Eight percent in the Northeast, 7 percent in the South and 6 percent in the Midwest also plan to reduce headcount.
Hiring By Region: Does your company, at your location, plan to increase, decrease or make no change to its number of full-time, permanent employees for all of 2012 compared to 2011?

2 | 2012 Job Forecast

Totals may not equal 100 percent due to rounding or the ability to choose more than one response.

Four Employment Trends to Watch in 2012
Compensation Getting More Competitive for Skilled Positions Employers expect compensation levels to increase for both current staff and prospective employees as recruiting for skilled talent becomes more competitive. Sixty-two percent of employers plan to increase compensation for their existing employee base while 32 percent will offer higher starting salaries for new employees.
What will be the average salary increase for existing employees at your company, at your location, in 2012 compared to 2011? What will be the average increase in salaries on initial job offers for new employees at your company, at your location, in 2012 compared to 2011?

Among functional areas where human resource managers anticipate there will be the greatest salary increases at their organizations in 2012 are those tied to revenue generation. Nearly one-in-four said sales positions would likely see the biggest jump in pay while one-in-five pointed to information technology roles.
Which areas in your organization are likely to see the greatest pay increases in 2012? (subset of Human Resource managers)

2

Voluntary Turnover on the Rise

One-third (34 percent) of human resource managers reported that voluntary turnover at their organizations rose in 2011. Employers cited the desire for higher compensation and feeling overworked as the top two reasons employees gave for resigning. Thirty percent of employers said they lost top performers to other organizations in 2011 and 43 percent stated they are concerned top talent may jump ship in the New Year.
What were the most common reasons employees voluntarily left your organization in 2011? Are you concerned about top workers leaving your organization in 2012?

Totals may not equal 100 percent due to rounding or the ability to choose more than one response.

2012 Job Forecast | 3

Employers Bridging the Skills Gap by Training Employed/Unemployed There is an increasing number of areas where demand for skilled positions is growing much faster than supply, prompting employers to take “re-skilling” workers into their own hands. Thirty-eight percent plan to train people who don’t have experience in their particular industry or field and hire them for positions within their organizations in 2012.

3

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,023 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between November 9 and December 5, 2011 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 3,023, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.78 percentage points. Sampling error for data from subsamples is higher and varies.

Is your company planning to train workers who don’t have experience in your particular industry or field and hire them within your organization in 2012?

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 40 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 10,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder’s proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

4

Employers Targeting Hispanic Workers, African American Workers and Women

Aware of the benefits diversity can bring to their organization, 29 percent of employers said they will be focused on recruiting diverse workers to expand their employee demographics. One-in-five (20 percent) will be targeting Hispanic workers and African American workers to work for their organizations while the same number will be recruiting more women. Forty-four percent plan to hire bilingual workers in 2012.
Are you targeting diverse job candidates in 2012?

© CareerBuilder, LLC. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Grasz 773.527.1164 Jennifer.Grasz@careerbuilder.com

www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR

2012 Job Forecast | 4