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(CFOZone) By Matthew Quinn
The U.S. employment picture looks mixed at best in 2010, with hiring picking up at a vast majority of U.S. companies even as some plan to continue making targeted workforce reductions, according to a new survey by Towers Watson.
The survey found that 92 percent of respondents plan to hire in 2010. However, 36 percent are also planning targeted workforce reductions, down from the 58 percent that have done so since the financial crisis began. The survey, based on responses from 118 mostly large employers in the U.S. and 459 employers globally, was conducted in early January.
Not surprisingly, given the scarcity of job opportunities over the past year and a half, 41 percent of respondents agree that it's easier to retain talent now than it was before the financial crisis. However, as the economy improves, half of the respondents expect retention to be more difficult a year from now.
The survey did find employers optimistic that worker productivity will improve over the next year. Fifty-five percent of respondents said employee productivity had risen compared with pre-financial crisis levels, and 48 percent expect it will continue to rise by next year.
"While it's heartening - and a testament to employer focus and employee commitment - that productivity has increased, that's also part of the reason for slower hiring and more caution about increased investments in workforce programs," said Laura Sejen, global rewards practice leader at Towers Watson.
Separately, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to 470,000 in the week ended Jan. 23, after rising for three weeks in a row. That fell short of expectations, as economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 450,000 from a previously reported 482,000.
The survey confirmed the toll the past year has taken on employees in terms of pay and benefit cuts. For instance, more than half of respondents said the percentage of their employees working past their desired retirement age is higher than it was before the financial crisis, and 31 percent expect it will be even higher a year from now. Thirty-two percent of the respondents said their employees' cost of health care coverage is higher now than it was before the financial crisis, and 38 percent think it will be even higher a year from now.
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