Workers feeling wanted

DALLAS — Marie Guthrie did exactly what many career consultants advise against: In October, she resigned without having another job.

What's more, she left an executive human-resources position that's not easy to find. But Guthrie has no qualms about her decision. Two employers have invited her for fourth interviews, positive steps in the sequence of six-figure hiring.

"These high-level jobs two years ago were practically non-existent," said Guthrie, 51. "Most companies were eliminating the positions and not refilling."

An expanding economy and a skilled labor shortage have sparked a resurgence in the recruitment of employed and unemployed workers alike, including those at the high end of the pay scale, hiring experts say. That makes this year's outlook for job seekers the best since 2000.

Nationally, the biggest job gains are expected to come in high-paying fields such as financial services, technology, health care, energy and international business, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas' annual forecast.

Together, those fields could create 1.3 million positions this year.

The rise in the quit rate is an indicator of a tightening labor market, experts say.

In January 2005, 24 percent of workers voluntarily resigned, a 13 percent surge from 2004, according to Ajilon Professional Staffing in Saddle Brook, N.J.

"This voluntary quit rate — employees leaving jobs without being fired, laid off or otherwise forced out — will emerge prominently in 2006," predicted Neil Lebovits, Ajilon's president and chief operating officer.

High-demand workers who switch jobs will see salary increases as high as 30 percent, though the rest of the work force can bank on modest wage gains, according to the Five O'Clock Club, a New York-based career-counseling and outplacement service for managers and executives.

"The average American has been in a job for four years," said Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O'Clock Club. "Based on how bad the market was four years ago, many of these workers are ready to make a move."

Rather than sitting back and watching top employees jump ship, employers are finding ways to enhance worker satisfaction, Lebovits said.

One way is through financial rewards. Companies will dole out larger raises to keep top talent in tough-to-fill slots.

Average increases will be about 3.5 percent, but they could rise to 10 percent in industries that are desperately short of qualified personnel, said Jeff Cooper of Authoria, a Waltham, Mass., human-resources software company.

Another way to improve worker satisfaction is through redeployment — assigning workers to different jobs within the company instead of replacing them. It can be a mutually beneficial retention strategy, Lebovits said.

"By and large, employees don't quit a job unless they already have something lined up or unless they believe they'll be able to quickly find another job that's as good or better than the job they have today," Cooper said.

"This situation raises the ante for employers because it means they're going to have to work harder to retain their best performers. Plus, it puts high-performing employees in a better position to jockey for a raise."

Nurses and defense engineers can count themselves among the fortunate.

"From their [employers'] point of view, it's much less expensive to give big raises to retain skilled employees than it is to recruit, hire and train new people," Cooper said.

Jobs in construction, accounting and information technology are also riding the popularity crest.

For managers in residential and commercial construction, annual raises of 5 to 8 percent have become the norm, said Mike Kittelson, managing director of Dallas-based Kaye/Bassman International, the state's largest search firm.

Certified public accountants are still sought after, although demand seems to be slipping for CPAs on the consulting side of the business.

Much of the consulting work related to implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been completed, and companies that now meet the tougher corporate-accounting standards are hiring accountants to manage the process in-house.

The slow-to-recover information-technology field is turning a corner, experts say.

Diana Rockel recently started a contract position as network analyst at Prince Computing in Irving, Texas.

After a 90-day probationary period, she hopes to be employed full time. Then she would earn substantially more than in her previous job, which she left in October without an offer in sight.

"Although we are competing with outsourcing, there is still a great need for experienced IT staffing," said Rockel, 40, of Richardson, Texas.

"Employers aren't treating applicants or departing employees as they did in the early '90s. Hiring practices are changing. Interviewing is becoming more effective. Benefits programs are improving. And more companies are bringing consultants on board."

With a warmer recruiting climate, it's simply a matter of matching the right people to the openings, said Vickie Graves, business-development manager at RedSalsa Technologies, an IT staffing firm in Dallas. "We are definitely on an uphill climb."