Hiring Managers Predicting Significant Jump in Hiring in Second Quarter, According to CareerBuilder.com Survey

One-in-ten workers plan to change jobs in the second quarter

CHICAGO, March 14, 2005 – CareerBuilder.com, the nation's largest online job network with more than 20 million unique visitors* and over 600,000 jobs, released the results of its latest survey tracking projected recruitment and job search activities for the upcoming quarter. The survey, titled "Q2 2005 Job Forecast," was conducted from February 24, 2005 to March 3, 2005 of more than 1,700 workers, including over 600 hiring managers primarily operating in services industries.

HIRING HIGHLIGHTS

"Following 21 consecutive months of job creation and increased investment in business operations, hiring managers are confident that the second quarter will bring strong employment gains," said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. "Sixty-nine percent of hiring managers expect to increase their staffs in the second quarter, a significant jump from the 45 percent who said they would do so in the first quarter."

Twenty-three percent of hiring managers expect no change in employment at their locations in the next three months while only 7 percent plan to decrease staffs.

Amount of Employees Being Hired
While 43 percent of hiring managers say they will hire between 1 and 10 workers, 11 percent report they will recruit more than 100. Twenty-four percent expect to add between 11 and 50 employees while 11 percent plan to add between 51 and 100. The number one reason for adding new positions is to expand operations, as cited by 15 percent of hiring managers.

Length of Time to Fill Open Positions
Hiring managers are expediting the process for bringing new employees on board. Sixty-two percent report they are filling their open positions within one month, with 32 percent taking less than two weeks.

Most Popular Positions for Recruitment
Thirty-one percent of hiring managers report it is difficult to find qualified candidates, especially those with specialized skill sets. The leading areas being targeted for new job requisitions include healthcare, sales, retail, accounting/finance and information technology. In terms of job level, three-in-ten hiring managers plan to seek out candidates to fill professional and technical positions, while 10 percent will be looking for managers, directors, team leaders and senior executives.

Temporary Hiring
To quickly scale up and augment their current staffs, 57 percent of hiring managers will be employing the use of temporary help.

Hiring by Region
Similar to findings in December, the Midwest is tracking below the other regions in recruitment plans for the upcoming quarter. However, strong increases in employment are expected across all regions. Sixty-four percent of hiring managers in the Midwest expect to increase their staffs in the second quarter, compared to 68 percent in the West, 71 percent in the Northeast and 75 percent in the South. The Northeast is the least likely to cut their staff numbers with only 4 percent of hiring managers expecting a decrease while the Midwest is the mostly likely at 12 percent. The South and West fell in between at 7 percent and 8 percent respectively.

JOB CHANGES AND JOB SATISFACTION HIGHLIGHTS

"A more robust job market is fueling a boost in job search activity in 2005," said Ferguson. "More than 21 million unique visitors came to CareerBuilder.com each month in January and February. Unemployed and dissatisfied workers are on the lookout for better employment opportunities with one-in-ten expecting to find a new job in the upcoming quarter."

Satisfaction with Key Job Factors Overall job dissatisfaction remained little changed quarter over quarter with one-in-five workers still reporting they are unhappy with their current positions. While dissatisfaction with work volume improved quarter over quarter from 47 percent to 43 percent, four-in-ten workers still categorize their workloads as too heavy and three-in-ten say long days at the office make it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance. Forty-six percent of workers report dissatisfaction with pay considering the effort put forth in their jobs.

Dissatisfaction levels rose quarter over quarter in the areas of career advancement and development. Forty percent of workers feel their present employers do not offer enough opportunities for them to move up the company ladder, up from 36 percent. Thirty-eight percent complain that their employers do not provide adequate training and professional development, an increase from 34 percent. Though there was a decline in dissatisfaction with corporate leaders who shape the overall work experience, more than one-third of workers still say senior management is not performing up to par.

Job Changes By Region
In addition to having the highest amount of dissatisfied workers, the Northeast also has the highest amount of workers planning to change jobs in the second quarter at 13 percent. The South is following closely behind at 12 percent with the Midwest at 10 percent. The West saw the largest drop in planned job changes, from 15 percent in the previous survey to 9 percent.

Job Changes by Select Industries and Job Functions
Consistent with the previous survey, those working in hospitality are more apt to seek out new opportunities with 20 percent reporting plans to change jobs in the second quarter. Thirteen percent of sales workers will be joining the job hunt as will 12 percent in accounting/finance, 11 percent in information technology, 10 percent in retail and 9 percent in healthcare. Government employees are the least likely to change jobs in the second quarter with only 5 percent planning to leave their current positions.

To view the report in its entirety, visit: http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/AboutUs/PR/surveys.htm

*comScore Media Metrix, February 2005. The CareerBuilder Network is a custom aggregation of CareerBuilder.com traffic as well as job search traffic to career centers CareerBuilder powers for partner sites such as Tribune Company, Gannett, Knight Ridder and others.

Survey Methodology

The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Q2 2005 Job Forecast," was conducted from February 24 to March 3, 2005. Methodology used to collect survey responses totaling more than 1,700 workers for this study involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members. These Web Panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation, which asked them to participate in a short online survey. The results of this survey are statistically accurate to within +/- 2.36 percentage points (19 times out of 20). Note: the sample of 1,700+ included over 600 hiring managers. The results for the hiring managers alone are statistically accurate to within +/- 3.89 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job network with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 600,000 jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 450 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 130 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 30,000 of the nation's top employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 11 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com