EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRMS
Demand for senior executive talent increased during the first quarter of 2008 despite a slight dip in the tumultuous financial sector, according to a state-of-the-industry survey released in June 2008 by the Association of Executive Search Consultants.
The number of searches for financial services executives was flat compared with the preceding quarter, but down 7.2 percent from the first quarter of 2007. The technology sector was also down year over year, falling 5.1 percent.
Financial services is typically the largest executive search sector, but it dropped to second during the quarter with a 22 percent market share, trailing the industrial sector’s 24 percent. Searches for manufacturing executives saw the biggest year-over-year gain, at 10.1 percent.
Overall global executive searches were up 9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007. Year over year, they were up 1.4 percent. And industry revenue was up 13.2 percent year over year. Other yearly increases included a 5.5 percent rise in average revenue per search consultant and a 15.5 percent increase in average fee per assignment.
The quarterly survey showed other executive search industry sectors maintained their market shares for the first quarter. Consumer products had 18 percent of the market, technology 15 percent, life sciences/health care 11.5 percent, nonprofits 6 percent and professional services 3 percent.
In July 2008, the association reported that the overall outlook on executive hiring for the rest of 2008 was neutral, with search consultants seeing executive job opportunities in the second half of the year in a few strong sectors: natural resources, manufacturing and health care.
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