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"Best Careers of 2011" – How Did The Business & Finance Careers Turn Out?

By Abby Lombardi on December 12, 2011 in Business/Finance, Labor Market Dynamics.

As we approach the end of the year, we thought we'd return to the list of the "50 Best Careers of 2011" pubished by US News to see if the actual hiring demand was similar to expectations. Over the next few weeks, we'll revisit each job category and look at hiring demand. Today, we'll review the Business and Finance careers.

OccupationMedian Pay% Projected Growth (2008-18)
Accountant$60,34022
Actuary$87,21021
Financial adviser$68,20030
Financial analyst$73,67020
Logistician$68,00020
Meeting planner$44,78016
Public relations specialist$51,96024
Sales manager$96,79015
Training specialist$52,12023

As a group, employers and staffing agencies posted more than 609,000 new online job ads for these occupations since the beginning of the year until the end of November. Although this is not as high as was seen during pre-recession times, this is up 15% over the comparable period in 2010.  In the past 90 days alone, there have been 138,000 jobs at a 6% increase versus 2010.

Hiring Demand for the Projected Best Business & Finance Careers of 2011 – 4 Years

Hiring Demand for the top Business & Finance Careers of 2011

Source: WANTED Analytics

Hiring for each occupation over the past 90 days varies. Recruiters placed the most job ads for Accountants and Sales Managers during this 90 day period. However, the demand for Accountants has grown 24% compared to the same time period in 2010, while hiring for Sales Managers declined 9%. Financial Analysts, PR Specialists, Financial Advisers, Logisticians, and Meeting Planners saw year-over-year increases, with Financial Advisers seeing the highest growth at 57%. Training Specialists and Actuaries saw declining hiring demand, along with Sales Managers.

Hiring Demand for Business & Finance Jobs – Past 90 Days vs. 2010

Volume of Job Ads for Top Business and Finance Careers

Source: WANTED Analytics

According to our Hiring Scale™, Actuaries are likely to be the hardest of these positions. With just 6 potential candidates in the workforce for each online job ad, Recruiters are likely to see a longer time-to-fill for these openings. In fact, job ads for Actuaries stay online for an average of 50 days (or just over 7 weeks). In cities where demand is the highest and talent remains low, such as Boston (Massachusetts), Recruiters will experience even more difficult conditions. Here, there are just 4.6 potential candidates for each Actuary job opening in Boston. Our Hiring Scale also shows, of these projected high growth occupations, Financial Advisers are likely to be the easiest for Recruiters to fill. There are about 13 potential candidates in the workforce for each Financial Adviser job ad online.

Hiring Scale for Actuaries (Hard-to-Fill Job) – Boston, MA vs. Nationally

Hiring Scale for Actuaries - Boston vs. Nationally

Source: WANTED Analytics

Are you recruiting for open business and finance jobs? Sign up for a free trial of WANTED Analytics™ to see how hiring demand compares, what recruiting conditions look like in your area, and find hidden talent pools.

"The Best Careers of 2011" — How Are They Looking So Far?

By Juli Morris on August 5, 2011 in Business/Finance.

As we dig into the second half of 2011, we thought we would revisit U.S. News' "The 50 Best Careers of 2011" list to see how some of these occupations have been faring so far this year. U.S. News categorized these careers into five lists — this time we'll look at the 10 best careers in the Business and Finance list.

In compiling these lists,  U.S. News identified occupations projected to add jobs at an above-average rate, and those with above-average median income. They also looked at factors such job satisfaction, turnover, and educational requirements.

U.S. News Best Careers 2011 — Business & Finance:

OccupationMedian Pay% Projected Growth (2008-18)
Accountant$60,34022
Actuary$87,21021
Financial adviser$68,20030
Financial analyst$73,67020
Logistician$68,00020
Meeting planner$44,78016
Public relations specialist$51,96024
Sales manager$96,79015
Training specialist$52,12023

As a group, employers and staffing agencies posted just over 191,000 new online job ads for these occupations over the past 120 days, up 11% over the comparable period in 2010. Nearly 60,000 of those jobs were posted in June, an increase of 58% over the 4-year low in May 2009.

Hiring Demand for U.S. News Best Careers 2011 — Business & Finance — 4 Years:

Hiring Demand for U.S. News Best Careers 2011 — Business & Finance — 4 Years

Source: WANTED Analytics™

Accountants and Sales Managers claim the most job postings, with more than 120,000 or 63% of the total. Actuaries experienced declining demand over the prior year, down 13%, while Sales Managers were down just slightly at .1%. The occupations with the most gains were Public Relations Specialists and Logisticians, followed by Meeting Planners.

Hiring Demand by Occupation — Past 120 Days vs Same Period 2010:

Hiring Demand by Occupation — Past 120 Days vs Same Period 2010

Source: WANTED Analytics™

According to our Hiring Scale™, none of these occupations were exceptionally hard to fill on a national level. Local talent pools vary, however, and looking at one of the top metro areas shows some variations. In metro Washington, DC, recruiters will face a more challenging process in trying to source talent for Sales Manager and Training Specialist positions, but will have an easier time than the average in recruiting Actuaries. There are 3.1 potential candidates in the DC area for every new Sales Manager position posted in the past 120 days, 6.2 candidates for each Training Specialist position, and 17.7 for Actuary jobs.

Hiring Scale Metrics for Metro Washington, DC:

Hiring Scale Metrics for Metro Washington, DC

Source: WANTED Analytics™

You can take a look at these positions in other locations with our new, complimentary Hiring Scale.

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