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Many industries still hiring
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Published: February 24, 2008
If you're under the impression that all companies have put a freeze on hiring and are laying off workers during this economic downturn, you're wrong. Many industries are short-handed and will continue to hire, regardless of the economic climate.
That's the word form Christa Shapiro, regional vice president of Adecco's San Diego office. Adecco is an international staffing firm with 1,500 offices in the United States. It is the world's largest employment agency, followed by Kelly Services Inc., Manpower Inc., Spheron Corp. and Kforce. The company supplies temporary and permanent workers to most industries.
There are two Adecco offices in Tampa, at 10055 Adamo Drive, (813) 653-9396, and 4427 W. Kennedy Blvd., (813) 287-5511.
Shapiro hones in on industries that are hiring now and will continue to beef up staffs during this tight economy.
While there was a noticeable slowdown in the third and fourth quarters of 2007 and many companies laid off workers, at the same time many organizations started to hire temporary workers to ride out the storm. "Staffing companies are among the first to feel the positive effects of a recession," Shapiro explains.
If companies lay off people, they're more likely to hire temporary staffers because they have the option of hiring them full time when the economy turns around or letting them go if they're not working out.
Shapiro estimates that about 35 percent to 45 percent of temps are hired on a permanent basis ("temp-to-hire") by companies after six to 18 months.
Industries that are hiring
Health care
This broad sector includes bio-scientific and medical-instrument companies and hospitals, nursing homes, schools and prisons. About 30 of the fastest growing occupations are concentrated in health services. A few of the high-demand positions include medical assistants, physical therapists, physician assistants, licensed vocational nurses, home health aides, and medical-records and health-information technicians.
These institutions require many skills. They were doing well prior to the present downturn, and will continue to do well no matter how bad the economy gets. "That's because they are providing essential products and services," Shapiro says.
Insurance
In good or hard times, the insurance industry always is hiring sales and administrative people, along with customer-service reps and IT professionals, which include security and network technicians and database administrators.
Energy
Like health care jobs, the energy industries require a broad range of skills, such as mechanical and electrical engineers; technicians, project managers; customer-service representatives; maintenance mechanics; production supervisors; and administrative assistants.
Education
The teacher shortage grows worse every year. Teachers' organizations project at least 150,000 to 250,000 openings in elementary and secondary schools by 2010, as public-school enrollment jumps by nearly 2 million. The need is especially great in California, followed by Texas, Nevada, North Carolina and Florida. If you teach a subject for which there's strong demand, such as math, science, special education or English as a second language, you can practically pick your school.
Trucking/logistics
Five years ago, trucking companies complained about a dire shortage of drivers. The situation hasn't changed. In a recession or a booming economy, everything from perishables to heavy equipment still has to be shipped to small towns throughout the nation. Because airfreight is so expensive and rail capacity is limited, the federal government projects a 31 percent increase in product hauling over U.S. highways through 2017.
The demand for truckers, particularly long-haul drivers, is so great that many companies are trying to revamp trucking's tarnished nomadic image by offering better working arrangements and benefits, higher pay and more time off. The industry also is trying to recruit more women, minorities, retired military veterans and those who want a second career.
Advantages of temping
The staffing industry has come a long way in the past three decades. The large companies provide medical insurance, vacations and training. It's a great way to sample a range of industries until you find one company you'd like to stick with and build a career with. In fact, many people with in-demand skills have temped for companies throughout the nation. It's not a bad way to find a place you'd like to live and settle down in, and build a career at the same time.
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