The Towers Watson study, which included nearly 400 U.S. companies across a broad range of industries, found the average merit raise in 2011 will be approximately 3% (compared with 2.7% in 2010).

That represents the largest annual increase in merit raises since the financial crisis began back in 2008. Back in those days, companies averaged 3.5-4% merit raises a year, according to a recent CFOZone post.

What’s more: Companies are planning to hire, providing some much-needed relief to long-time employees, who’ve been forced to take on more responsibilities over the past few years.

Among the expected hiring trends:

• 42 percent of companies are planning to hire workers for positions that require critical skills
• 40 percent plan to add professional and technical workers, and
• 25 percent plan to hire sales professionals and hourly workers this year.

Despite all the optimistic forecasts, more than a third of companies claim they’re still having trouble when it comes to recruiting top performers, many of whom have been able to maintain their employment throughout the crisis.

Source: “Merit raises are coming back,” by Stephen Taub, CFOZone, 3/1/11.

While there are no specific statistics or studies that have tracked the percentage of current employers who refuse to hire unemployed applicants, recent articles by The Huffington Post, as well as several other local and national papers, explore this dynamic.

In some cases, employers are afraid to hire someone for a high-level position whose skills may have grown dull or rusty over the past few years – years during which the marketplace has changed dramatically, as have the way customers do business and the modes companies use to communicate, manufacture and produce.

According to the Dept. of Labor, there are 5.5 unemployed workers available for every available job (on average). In that type of job market, employers are going out of their way to disqualify candidates they no have very little chance of getting hired.

Rather than have their recruiting people get inundated with hundreds of applications, or waste time interviewing candidates who should’ve never gotten through the door, HR execs have become much more proactive.

One recent article cites an employer in Buckhead, GA, whose job posting bluntly reads: “NO UNEMPLOYED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONSIDERED AT ALL.”

Another employer in Georgia posted an ad for a hands-on, manual labor position that read: “If you have not worked since 2009, do not apply!”

Restaurants, accounting firms, and financial service firms are all posting the same type of ads.

Apparently, “Unemployed” is the new “Prior Experience required.”

While there’s currently no law on the books that forbids companies from disqualifying applicants based on employment status, the current job market is forcing legislators to review labor laws and consider whether tighter regs might be necessary.

Employers, on the other hand, claim they’re just doing their best not to waste their time or the applicants’. Certain positions require top-of-the-line applicants who are on top of their game, according to their argument.

If a company knows what it’s looking for, why should it waste valuable time and resources looking elsewhere?

What do you think about this latest shift in employment practices? Is it ultimately a good thing? A bad thing? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source: “Help wanted – jobless need not apply,” by Zachary Roth, The Lookout, 2/17/11.

The survey, conducted by Manpower (and employee placement firm), found 84% of employees want out of their current jobs in 2011 (as compared to 60% of employees one year ago).

Employee morale and motivation have plummeted over the past year, despite both statistics hovering at consistently low levels for the past three years, as companies continue to push increased productivity with little or no rewards.

The result – an unprecedented desire to pursue other career opportunities rather than risk (or prolong):

• stress-related burnout
• unrealistic expectations (from employers)
• an unmanageable workload
• no hope for increases or bonuses to offset higher cost of living, and/or
• a growing feeling of resentment toward an organization they once respected.

Obviously, given the condition of the job market, your best (and most ambitious) employees are also the ones who have the best chance of finding gainful employment elsewhere.

With that in mind, now may be the time for management to take proactive steps aimed at securing top employees before the exodus actually begins.

Source: “New Year’s Resolution: I Quit!” by Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney, 12/23/10.

1. Finance: Between the four major finance/investment companies that made Fortune‘s list, there are nearly 20,000 job openings. 20,000!! A lot of the major finance companies continue to post billion-dollar earnings, despite anemic growth elsewhere. That means opportunity for recruits (and companies) that have the expertise to capitalize.
2. Tech/IT: There are nine tech companies included in this year’s list, including consistent favorites like Google, Cisco and Intel. A lot of economists refer to this as the digital age, an indication that the tech industry is a strong indicator of where the economy’s headed. If the 7,750 current job openings these nine companies are currently offering is any indication, Tech is moving in a very positive direction.
3. Retail: Retail sales rose a remarkable 4% from September to October this year, according to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE). Receipts for the second week in September were up nearly 6% from last year. And overall sales for October were up 1%. It would seem consumers are starting to spend again. As a result, the Retail sector is hiring in a big way again (e.g., Nordstrom, The Container Store and Recreational Equipment are currently looking to fill a combined 5,600 job openings).
4. Food Services: People have to buy groceries, right? But in this day and age, the grocery chains that are in a position to thrive are mostly organic food stores that offer a variety of health-conscious alternatives. To wit: Whole Foods is currently looking to fill 2,000 positions, while perennial giants like Wegman’s and Publix are still hiring at a rampant pace.
5. Business Consulting: Perhaps one of the unique subplots of the current economic crisis is that – despite major cost cuts – a lot of companies are still interested in hiring consultants, perhaps because they’ve never been more desperate for sound strategic advice. Most business consulting companies are billing less per hour, but compensating by fanning out and increasing the number of hours/companies they bill. In order to do so, they need more reliable consultants. Between the three consulting companies that made Fortune‘s list, there are more than 4,000 job openings.
6. Health Services: Hold onto your hats. If Obamacare isn’t repealed or postponed by the recent Republican surge, the numbers of Americans with affordable healthcare coverage is about to skyrocket. Some of the plan’s changes have already gone into effect. Over the next three years, as the full impact of the plan is felt, Healthcare Services organizations including insurance companies, hospitals, clinics and pharmaceutical companies are going to experience rapid (and parallel) growth.

To see Fortune‘s complete list of  “30 Companies That are Still Hiring!” click here.

1. Key employees leave and aren’t being replaced: Obviously, this isn’t an easy sign to spot. But if your HR people regularly monitor (or post on) job sites, chances are they’re tuned into employment trends, including which company’s employees are currently testing the job market the most. That info could be extremely valuable, especially if your company happens to interview candidates who confirm your suspicions (i.e., a top competitor is struggling to remain afloat).
2. Downward (or outward) communication has slowed: If a company has slowed or stopped mentioning new initiatives, special offers and other company news via the Web (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, company blogs, corporate web sites, e-mails, etc.), it could be a sign that forward progress and/or production has stopped for the time being. Consumer (and industry) message boards are a great source of chatter about such things … albeit a somewhat unreliable one. If it’s a publicly-traded company, you may want to keep an eye on quarterly reports to see if you can spot any negative cashflow trends.
3. Salary/hiring freezes: Sure, in many cases this has been a fairly common and effective way for companies to ride out the economic downturn. But the telltale sign at this point will be monitoring how competitors respond as the recession continues to lift. If most of the companies in your industry/region have returned to business as usual, yet one or two remain stuck in spin, they may not be in a position to fully recover. If that is in fact the case, chances are some of their best customers have already felt the impact. That could spell opportunity for proactive salespeople.
4. Expenses/Amenities rolled back: Clamping down on expenses may seem like an effective cost-cutting measure on the surface. In fact, 10-15% of companies have scaled back their expenses to some extent over the past two years. But a recent IHS Global study revealed for every 1% the average company cuts its T&E budget, it experiences a 1.7% decrease in sales. In other words, cutting your T&E budget isn’t only a dangerous gamble, it could be a very slippery slope that leads to more losses. Other signs T&E cuts are more than just a sign of the times: Competitors’ corporate events reduced or canceled as the company regains its footing, and/or competitors’ reps are no longer a fixture at popular trade shows and conferences.

Of course, none of these signs is a surefire indication a company’s about to go under. Still, if you notice one or more of these red flags starting to pop up, it may be worth investigating further. There are valuable business opportunities at stake for companies that can spot – and capitalize on – these warning signs early and often.

Based in part on “How to Tell if a Company’s in Trouble,” by Glenn Curtis, Investopedia.

The three hottest job markets:

1. Washington, DC: Public sector jobs are on the rise, as are the wholesale and retail industries in the nation’s capitol. Nearly a quarter of companies the DC area plan to hire more employees before the end of the year and the unemployment rate is a respectable 6.2% (as compared with a 9.8% national average).
2. San Antonio, TX: Teachers are in high demand, as are health professionals and IT specialists. Twenty percent of companies plan to add more employees this year and a nearby military base could create as many as 10,000 new jobs within the next year (most of them related to the healthcare field).
3. Greenville, SC: Greenville has its downside – the unemployment rate is still well over 9%, the average income is relatively low and only 18% of companies are currently looking to hire. But there are manufacturing and public sector jobs for those who are looking. That combined with a low cost of living makes Greenville a worthwhile job market.

The three worst job markets:

1. Las Vegas, NV: In a bad economy, luxury spending is one of the first things to suffer. That being the case, Las Vegas is in a bad way these days.
2. Reno, NV: As Las Vegas goes, so goes Reno.
3. Detroit, MI: The auto industry is clawing its way back. But the major blows it’s been dealt during the past two years have had a severe impact on Detroit’s overall economic state. A lot of jobs disappeared, and a lot of jobs aren’t coming back.

Source: “America’s Strongest Job Markets,” by Vanessa Wong, BusinessWeek.

Just over 1.8 million people voluntarily left their jobs in March. While that number is significantly lower than the pre-recession average of 2.7 million, it’s an uptick from the low point of 1.72 last October.

The statistics, recently released by the Bureau of Labor, show a reverse in employment trends that lasted more than 15 months.

According to a recent Right Management survey, 60% of employees plan to leave their current job as the economy improves. With a higher percentage of companies now hiring again, workers are finding they have more options.

Meanwhile, companies that have employed a more-with-less mentality will need to strike a balance in order to keep top talent from leaving.

Beyond that, there are a lot of employees who habitually jump from job to job to increase their earning potential and advance their careers. Most of those employees have been forced to accept their circumstances over the past few years, which means a lot of employees are now eager to test the job market.

One key takeaway: In a recent Dice.com survey, employees who wanted to leave were asked what would persuade them to stay if they found another opportunity. The top three answers:

• 57% said nothing could convince them to stay
• 42% said higher salary, and
• 11% said a promotion.

Source: “More Workers Start to Quit,” by Joe Light,” Wall Street Journal, 5/26/10.

Why do more than a third of salespeople plan on testing the job market, and how can you keep them from flying the coop?

The answers range from pay to work/life balance, according to a new study conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.

It revealed 35% of salespeople have plans to seek employment elsewhere, and 28% of sales managers have begun taking measures to retain their best salespeople — and keep turnover low.

The survey included responses from nearly 400 salespeople across a broad range of industries, and found that:

• 35% of salespeople were dissatisfied with their current pay
• 20% were unhappy with their work/life balance, due to more hours and added responsibilities, and
• 21% were unsatisfied with their job growth potential in their current sales position.

So what can managers do to keep their best talent from jumping ship? The answer may lie in the responses salespeople provided regarding what they’d be looking for with a new employer (in addition to better pay and benefits):

• a positive work culture (59%)
• good career advancement opportunities (52%)
• a company that’s financially stable and growing (52%)
• a less stressful environment (40%)
• the feeling that what they do makes a positive difference (40%)
• paid training and learning opportunities (34%)
• flexible work schedules (28%), and
• more camaraderie and stronger ties among employees (26%).

Do you expect retention be a major issue at your company in the near future? If so, what are you doing to keep employees happy? Share your thoughts in the Comments Box below.

Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

CIOs expect an uptick in hiring in the second quarter, according to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

The Robert Half study found that 9% of tech execs plan to add IT staff while only 4% anticipate letting folks go.

That 5% increase is up two points from the first quarter’s forecast and three points higher than the year-ago projection.

The IT Hiring Index and Skills Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the U. S. with 100 or more employees. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis.

Even better than those numbers was the overall confidence expressed by many top techs. Their responses included:

• Nearly 80% of technology executives expressed confidence in their companies’ prospects for growth in the second quarter.
• The net 5 percent increase in hiring activity that is forecast marks the second consecutive quarter in which hiring expectations have risen.
• Recruitment and retention are emerging as concerns for IT executives.
• CIOs in the nation’s central regions — West South Central, West North Central and East North Central — forecast the strongest IT hiring activity.

“Executives are showing early signs of optimism in their business and hiring outlook,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Recruiting efforts are focused in areas such as networking and desktop support, which help keep hardware and software running effectively, and facilitate the implementation of new technologies.”

With many companies putting IT projects on hold or delaying upgrades because of the poor economy, there’s likely to be a backlog of updates and new technology implementations the IT crowd is itching to get started. Most of these projects will take more resources to get up and running.

Waiting too long to hire IT talent could be a problem if other organizations get started first. The top talent will likely either be picked over or their price will have gone up if your firm waits too long.

It could also mean that your technology lags behind others in your industry. Not a pretty thought.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides jobs for droves of unemployed taxpayers, but a lot of those jobs are attached to manual labor projects, that are temporary by nature.

All of which leads to the question: What happens once those projects are complete?

Most states don’t have the budget or the need to keep a lot of those temporary workers on, once the project is complete, which leads to a situation where the cream of the crop stay on for future projects, but a lot of those previously unemployed workers are right back where they started.

Example: This past summer, the FCC hired over 4,000 new employees to handle a short-term telemarketing project, which was funded by stimulus money. The commission was flooded with applicants and it provided temporary work for the unemployed in several U.S. cities. But once the project was finished in August, most of those employees (save for a select few who were reallocated to work on other projects) were laid off again.

The root of the problem: Stimulus jobs – by their nature – can only last as long as the stimulus money that funds them. In a perfect world, every organization that employs people using stimulus funds would submit a proposal for how its stimulus project(s) will help generate additional profit and job growth. Unless the projects are promoting expansion or generating new streams of revenue, all they’re really doing is buying time in the hopes the economy will bounce back and companies will start hiring again.

That said, the stimulus funds are providing 600,000 people with a regular (albeit temporary) paycheck and a way to make ends meet. The question is: How could this plan have been set up differently to promote long-term prosperity?

Source: “Why Stimulus Jobs Aren’t Built to Last,” by David Goldman, CNNMoney, 11/02/09

A late-October survey revealed the sad story: Despite the influx of stimulus money, small businesses aren’t benefiting — if you use employment as a yardstick.

The survey, conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business, shows that 19% of small businesses cut an average of 4.2 jobs in the third quarter of ’09. Only 8% boosted employment by an average of as much as 3.5 workers. IN contrast, coming out of the last recession, companies with fewer than 20 employees generated 40% of job growth, according to the Small Business Administration.

Why isn’t small business the big employment engine these days? Three reasons, according to most reports:

1. Tight credit. The recent NFIB survey reported that 14% of small-biz owners say loans are hard to get.
2. Limited exports. Big outfits usually have access to growing overseas markets, while small businesses rely on the local economy.
3. Healthcare costs. The more uncertainty small firms face in this area, the more reluctant they are to expand and hire.

The survey, which polled more than 35,000 workers across multiple industries, based its results on what percentage of employees in each field felt their job was totally secure. According to the results, general surgeons and emergency room physicians have the least risk of losing their jobs (100% of those surveyed felt their job was completely secure).

While that may not come as a surprise, considering physicians are always in demand and surgeons are highly specialized, take a look at these everyday professions that landed just below them on the list:

• Marketing Manager (#3 on the list, 100% feel their job is secure): It takes time and experience to move to the top of the marketing department at most companies. But once you do so, the salary and security are worth their weight in gold (Marketing Manager was also #26 on CNN‘s list of the best jobs in America).
• Software Development Director (#5 on the list, 97% feel their job is secure): In the digital age, there’s no shortage of demand for high-level tech geeks. This is a niche profession where those fortunate enough to have the right experience are reaping the benefits.
• Director of Communications (#7 on the list, 96% feel their job is secure): Who would’ve thought it, right? But those execs who plan public relations campaigns and stand out front as the “face of the company” for press and media relations apparently have very little risk of falling victim to corporate cutbacks. In addition to providing job security, communication specialists also came in at #31 on CNN‘s list of the best jobs in America.

We’ve included the complete top 10 below. Are there any other professions you’d add to this list?

Top 10 most secure jobs in America:

1. Emergency Room Physician
2. General Surgeon
3. Marketing Manager
4. Nurse Practicioner
5. Software Development Director
6. Physician Assistant
7. Director of Communications
8. Physical Therapist
9. Speech-Language Pathologist
10. Attorney

Source: “The Top 10 Most Secure Jobs,” CNNMoney, November, 2009

The projections, based largely on statistics from a national study conducted by the Monthly Labor Review in 2007, predict these 10 industries will offer the most potential in terms of jobs and salary over the next six years (also listed is the estimated annual rate of expansion):

1. Management and technical consulting services: 5.9%
2. Individual and family services: 5.7%
3. Home health care services: 4.5%
4. Securities, commodities & financial investments: 3.9%
5. Facility sevices: 3.8%
6. Residential care: 3.3%
7. Independent artists, writers, and performers: 3.3%
8. Computer systems design: 3.3%
9. Museum and historical sites: 3.1%
10. Day care services: 2.9%

It may be worth considering how you can tap into these markets or target prospects in related industries. Meanwhile, here are the 10 industries that are experiencing the most rapid decline:

1. Sewing manufacturing: -8.7%
2. Footwear manufacturing: -7.3%
3. Federal enterprises (except the USPS): -5.2%
4. Knitting apparel factories: -5.1%
5. Textile and fabrics mills: -5.0%
6. Leather and hide manufacturing: -4.9%
7. Apparel manufacturing : -4.1%
8. Tobacco manufacturing: -4.0%
9. Computer manufacturing: -4.0%
10. Iron and steel manufacturing: -3.9

The message is clear: As automated processes (and cheaper foreign labor) make it easier for companies to cut down on manpower, a lot of traditional American manufacturers are on the decline. Now may be the time to determine how your organization can adjust to those changes, and maintain (or increase) its market share.

Click here for the U.S. Department of Labor’s full list of “Industries with the fastest growing and most rapidly declining salary employment”

Fair-market value doesn’t only apply to products and services. Here’s what’s happening with salaries today.

Obviously, there are several factors that need to be taken into account when considering what an acceptable salary should be (e.g., industry, location, years of experience, size of company, cost of living, etc.).

But the good people at salary.com have developed a “Salary Wizard” that not only provides a full range of salaries for every major occupation, it even gives users the option to drill down deeper, providing a more precise range based on zip code, education, background, etc.

Here are the average salary ranges for some of the most popular professions out there. Keep in mind, these are only broad-base ranges. Several other factors (e.g., bonuses, incentives, how the company is set up, whether the title reflects the actual job responsibilities, etc.) contribute to whether someone gets paid a much higher – or lower – annual salary:

• IT Manager: $74,000-108,000 (Average: $80,060)
• Marketing Specialist: $43,000-$59,000 (Average: $50,880)
• Accountant: $37,000-46,000 (Average: $41,580)
• Sales Manager (top-level): $71,000-99,000 (Average: $84,598)
• Graphic Designer: $40,000-53,000 (Average: $46,095)
• Media Director: $1o2,000-134,00 (Average: $116,865)
• Project Manager (senior level): $86,000-109,000 (Average: $96,742)
• Customer Service Rep: $22,000-37,000 (Average: $29,500)
• HR Director: $59,000-110,000 (Average: $84,900)

For a full range of salaries across every profession, or to see how your salary structure stacks up against others in your market and region, visit salary.com’s “Salary Wizard“