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Keep up to date on the latest trends in hiring and employment in digital and direct marketing with our free quarterly reports, distributed to more than 15,000 professionals at the forefront of digital and direct marketing. To opt-in, send an email to survey@bernhart.com and put "opt-in" in the subject line.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Bernhart Unemployment Survey Released: Direct Marketers Facing Longer Unemployment


Owatonna, MN, August 24, 2010---The job outlook for unemployed direct marketers has sharply deteriorated since last summer, according to a new study by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a leading digital and direct marketing executive search firm.

"In Summer 2009, we asked unemployed direct marketers how long they had been looking for a job," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates. "We decided to ask that same question one year later. Like last year we broke down the results by levels of compensation, and for the first time we've segmented results by age."

The survey focused on respondents who said they are currently unemployed and are actively searching for a full-time direct marketing position. The survey's results, therefore, exclude those who are looking only for part-time work, currently employed, or unemployed but only passively looking.

Here are the 2010 survey's key findings:

  • Nearly one-third of respondents said they have been looking for a direct marketing-related position for more than 18 months.
  • The median length of unemployment among direct marketers is 12.0 months, nearly twice the 6.5-month figure of one year ago.
  • Older, higher-paid workers face much longer search times than their younger, lower-paid colleagues.
  • The survey reveals that generally the best odds of finding a direct marketing job are either in the first three months, or between 7 and 9 months.

According to Bernhart Associates' 2010 survey, 21% of unemployed respondents said they have been actively looking for a full-time direct marketing job between 1 and 3 months. Twelve percent (12%) said their search has lasted from 4 to 6 months, 9% said they have been looking for between 7 and 9 months, and 10% percent said they have been on the job hunt 10-12 months. The remainder, 48%, has been looking for more than a year.

When the results were broken down by salary, Bernhart said the survey reveals that lower-paid direct marketing job seekers are experiencing only slightly more success finding jobs more quickly than those in the higher-salary brackets.

However, when broken down by age, Bernhart said the differences are more dramatic. "In the 30 to 39 age bracket, all respondents said they had been searching for a new job for less than one year," he said. "But those between 50 and 59, half have been looking for more than a year. And if you are older than 60, you can pretty much expect to be looking for at least 18 months."

Bernhart pointed out that survey results are consistent with the challenges facing the overall U.S. labor market. "In July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nationwide median length of unemployment was 22.2 weeks, or approximately 5 months. While that is significantly less than the median for direct marketers, many direct marketing-related job categories require more specialized knowledge, more training, and higher levels of educational attainment than other jobs that fall into the unskilled labor category."

A total of 448 individuals responded to the random survey, which was emailed the week of August 16 to more than 9,000 direct marketers across the country.

Rather than wait another year, Bernhart said he will repeat the Unemployment Search Survey in about six months in order to track changes.

Bernhart announced that his quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Hiring Survey for the fourth quarter will be emailed out in the end of September. The third quarter report showed declines in all key employment indicators, reversing an upward trend during the first half of 2010.

Employers who would like to participate in the next Employment Survey should send an email with the subject "Opt-In" to survey@bernhart.com, or they can sign up on the Bernhart Associates website.




Sunday, August 22, 2010

Latest Bernhart Hiring Survey: Hiring Indicators Weaken for Digital and Direct Marketin in Third Quarter

Owatonna, MN, July 13, 2010 — Weakening economic signals are having their effect on the employment outlook for digital and direct marketers in the third quarter (Q3), according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC.

"The numbers have turned slightly lower for Q3, which is no surprise given growing uncertainties about the economic recovery," said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a nationally leading recruiting firm, which has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys in digital and direct marketing since 2001.

Here are the key findings from the Q3 survey:

• 39% of survey respondents said they will add to staff during the third quarter of 2010, down 4 points from Q2.
• 23% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, representing a slight increase from 20% last quarter.
• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q3 grew to 6%, compared with 3% during the spring quarter.

Bernhart said survey data reflect a mood of continued caution.

"One-half of all respondents said their hiring plans won't be changing this summer, and most of the hiring will be replacements rather than newly created positions," said Bernhart. "I've also noticed an uptick in calls to our office from individuals who have recently been laid off."

But for some digital and direct marketing categories at certain levels, Bernhart said opportunities are out there.

"There's a huge demand for skilled analysts, and we're also seeing a solid comeback in lower-level online marketing-related positions, including SEM and SEO managers, affiliate and relationship managers, and email marketing managers," said Bernhart. He added that media buyers also appeared high on the list of positions expected to be in short-term demand.

Bernhart said the data also point to an upswing in the business-to-business segment. "B-to-B is planning more hires, less layoffs, and has fewer hiring freezes than B-to-C. Those same indices for agencies, suppliers, and marketers all showed little variation."

Bernhart Associates’ third-quarter survey was emailed to more than 11,500 senior executives and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 419 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey between June 29 and July 12.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual
Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In” in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates’ website.

About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker focusing on senior-level Multichannel Direct Marketing, E-Marketing/E-Commerce, CRM, Database Marketing, Business Development and Quantitative Analysis positions. Jerry has been among the nation’s leading digital and direct marketing recruiters since 1991.

Viewed as a leading authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting and talent management, Jerry is a frequent speaker at national digital and direct marketing conferences and is often quoted in the marketing industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for all leading online and offline direct marketing publications, and conducts a widely followed employment survey for
EM+C covering internet marketing and e-commerce.

The Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report, now in its tenth year, is unparalleled in size and scope and has become the most widely followed employment report in online and offline marketing.

Bernard (Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates of Naperville, IL, contributes research and analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

Communications Contact:
Doug Berger
Douglas Berger Communications
212-262-1168
douglasbergernyc@gmail.com

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