Direct Marketing Employment Projections

You know I hate to add to the economic doom and gloom news... But, I guess it's no surprise that the most recent Bernhart and Associates survey reports: Direct Marketing Industry Cutting Back Sharply On Hiring Plans.

Direct marketers are coping with the slumping economy by making deep cuts in their hiring plans for the remainder of 2008, according to the latest Bernhart Associates employment survey. "Every one of our major employment indicators showed significant declines compared with summer and now stand at their lowest levels since the survey began 8 years ago," said Jerry Bernhart, owner of Bernhart Associates Executive Search.

There is a slight bright side to this story, however.

"Despite the gloomy outlook, nearly one-third of survey participants are still hiring and most don't have a hiring freeze," Bernhart added. "Certain job categories are holding up much better than others." When asked what positions employers intend to fill during the coming fourth quarter, Bernhart said sales and analytics dominated the list.

Marketing is always hit hard when the economy softens. Typically direct marketers are a tad safer than other disciplines that aren't able to justify their activities with hard facts--numbers and results. Yet, this news is disturbing.

It will be interesting to gauge the mood at the DMA conference next week (that is, if anyone shows up...). Look for live reports from DMA on this blog!