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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