St. Louis CFOs Reveal Hiring Plans For Next Six Months

Robert Half Survey Finds 59 Percent of St. Louis Companies Face Recruiting Challenges

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Sep 07, 2016, 08:10 ET

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released St. Louis Professional Employment Forecast from Robert Half shows 15 percent of St. Louis CFOs expect their company to create new jobs in the next six months. Another 69 percent plan to hire for open roles.

CFOs were asked, "What are your company's hiring plans for full-time, professional-level employees in the next six months?" Their responses:

	Sept. 2016 – Feb. 2017	March 2016 – Aug. 2016*
Expanding – adding new positions	15%	15%
Maintaining – only filling vacated positions	69%	73%
Freezing – not filling vacated positions or creating new ones	14%	12%
Reducing – eliminating positions	2%	1%

*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

View an infographic featuring the survey results.

Recruiting Challenges
Fifty-nine percent of St. Louis CFOs surveyed said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled candidates for professional-level positions today. This compares to 55 percent in the previous six months.

St. Louis executives (41 percent) also said finding skilled workers is their greatest staffing challenge.

"In terms of hiring growth, we're seeing high demand from St. Louis companies in the financial services, healthcare, construction and technology sectors," said John Gulnac, regional president for Robert Half in St. Louis. "Employers on the hunt for skilled talent must move quickly to hire, as the demand for skilled talent far outpaces the supply. Failure to act quickly will result in a competitive disadvantage."

Business Confidence
According to the Professional Employment Forecast, St. Louis CFOs are optimistic about their company's growth. Eighty-nine percent of executives reported being somewhat or very confident in their company's prospects for growth in the next six months.

About the Professional Employment Forecast
The Professional Employment Forecast was developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. The local results reflect a two-period rolling average based on interviews with 200 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in the St. Louis area with 20 or more employees. Executives were asked about their hiring and business outlook, including plans to add professional-level employees in areas such as accounting, finance, human resources, administrative, legal, marketing and information technology.

About Robert Half
Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm. The company, based in Menlo Park, California, has more than 340 staffing locations worldwide and offers job search and management tools at roberthalf.com. Additional insights on the latest hiring trends also can be found in the company's just-released 2017 Salary Guides. For more career and management insights, visit roberthalf.com/st-louis.

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SOURCE Robert Half