IDC: Recruiting Services See Global Slowdown

The outlook for 2003 is equally gloomy, as recruiting and staffing services market will continue to face soft hiring demand through the year. It is not until the end of 2004 that historical growth levels are expected to return, according to the Worldwide and US Recruiting and Staffing Services Forecast, 2003-2007 conducted by market intelligence and advisory firm IDC.

Then, an overall growth trend is expected. IDC predicts worldwide recruiting and staffing service spending will increase to $85.5 billion by 2007, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% during the period. The US market will increase to nearly $36.6 billion in 2007 on a CAGR of 8.8%.

Until then, service providers will continue to battle economic and geopolitical uncertainty. In light of this, IDC recommends service providers be especially prudent in examining the available options and assessing the opportunities and strategies to best position themselves to survive and even thrive in the evolving marketplace.

One such area is in the increased demand for end-to-end hiring process automation technologies and services. “Greater opportunities abound for providers of comprehensive hiring process automation – especially as the scope of these offerings expands to include internal hires as well as external applicants and as it links more strongly with clients’ efforts to address retention, performance measurement, and workforce optimization,” said Marc Pramuk, senior analyst for HR Management and Staffing Services at IDC.

The IDC studyis available for purchase by contacting IDC at 508-988-7988 or sales@idc.com.