Twin Cities CFOs Reveal Hiring Plans For Next Six Months

Robert Half Survey Finds 90 Percent of Twin Cities Companies Optimistic About Business Growth

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Sep 07, 2016, 08:10 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The just-released Twin Cities Professional Employment Forecast from Robert Half shows 11 percent of Minneapolis-St. Paul area CFOs expect their company to create new jobs in the next six months. Another 76 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:

Robert Half Professional Employment Forecast provides snapshot of Twin Cities hiring.

	Sept. 2016 – Feb. 2017*	March 2016 – Aug. 2016*
Expanding – adding new positions	11%	16%
Maintaining – only filling vacated positions	76%	74%
Freezing – not filling vacated positions or creating new ones	13%	9%
Reducing – eliminating positions	1%	2%

*Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding.

View an infographic featuring the survey results.

Recruiting Challenges
Sixty-two percent of Twin Cities CFOs surveyed said it's somewhat or very challenging to find skilled candidates for professional-level positions today.

Twin Cities executives (38 percent) also cited maintaining employee morale and productivity as an additional challenge when hiring and managing staff.

"Demand for skilled accounting and finance professionals has greatly outstripped supply for some time now in the Twin Cities, and we're seeing more jobs chase fewer candidates," said Jim Kwapick, district president for Robert Half in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. "In particular, companies seek staff and senior accountants, as well as business analysts, at all levels."

Business Confidence
According to the Professional Employment Forecast, Twin Cities CFOs are optimistic about their company's growth. Ninety percent of executives reported being somewhat or very confident in their company's prospects 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 Twin Cities 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/minneapolis-st-paul.

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SOURCE Robert Half