More employers are transitioning away from survival mode with a guarded optimism about an economic recovery. The result: fewer layoffs and freezes ahead.
Only one out of four employers plan to increase cost-cutting measures over the next 12 months. That’s a significant drop from February 2009, when 51% of employers planned more cost-cutting tactics over the next year.
These findings come from the April ’09 update to an ongoing series of surveys by Watson Wyatt titled, “Effect of the Economic Crisis on HR Programs — Update: April 2009.”
Check out the chart below to see how your company’s future plans compare to the firms in this study.
Even though the majority of firms aren’t planning further salary reductions, salary freezes, etc., moving forward, the number of employers who made these changes between February and April 2009 spiked.
If your firm could use a few extra staffers, it may be a good idea to move forward with your hiring plans ASAP. Why? If we really have hit bottom in terms of layoffs, you’ll have a huge crop of applicants to choose from.