NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network reports an increase in placements involving salaries above $80,000 during the most recent 6 months. For the first half of 2007, successful hires with annual salaries in excess of $80,000 increased by 7.7 percent over 2006. Of particular note is a substantial increase in $100,000 plus positions. The $100,000 and over category produced an 11 percent increase compared to the previous year. NPA board chair Genie Matthews, of Genie Matthews & Associates in Fayetteville, NC noted, “Employers are demanding precise skill sets and need the services of professional recruiters to fill their most critical roles. Since the market for talent is tightening, candidates are driving increasingly larger salaries, particularly when that candidate is being recruited from competitive situations or is recognized as a leader in their specialty.”
NPA, www.npaworldwide.com, is a member-owned cooperative based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. The membership is comprised of premier independent recruiters on six continents who work cooperatively to complete searches across virtually all industry and occupational sectors. NPA collects data in the following categories: accounting/finance/banking; administrative/human resources/materials/logistics/ operations; process/chemicals/natural resources/mining/oil & gas/environmental; information technology; engineering/design/manufacturing; medical/health care; construction/civil engineering/ architecture; nuclear & fossil power/utilities; software & hardware engineering/electronics development; sales and marketing; and various other niches.
“The hottest sector for our membership for the first two quarters of 2007 has been engineering/design,” according to Dave Nerz, executive vice president of NPA. “While functional areas like administration, human resources, and materials management have all shown nice double digit growth, nothing compares to the 80 percent growth our members have experienced in engineering- and design-related placements.”