The biggest issue facing employers today is finding qualified and skilled employees, according to a new survey of 233 companies throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
About 48 percent of the respondents in the survey cited finding qualified or reliable employees as their key concern, and another 36 percent said a lack of skilled employees was their main concern.
The survey was conducted by QPS Companies Inc., a Brookfield-based staffing company.
After staffing, the other most prevalent concerns cited by employers were: cost of materials, 39 percent; insurance costs, 35 percent; fuel costs, 22 percent; labor costs, 19 percent; overseas competition, 15 percent; technology changes, 12 percent; time constraints/just-in-time demands, 11 percent; and government regulations, 8 percent.
The survey also found that 52 percent of the companies plan to increase their hiring in the second quarter of 2006. Of those 52 percent, 68 percent plan on increasing their staff by 1-10 employees, 19 percent plan on adding 11-40 employees and 13 percent plan on adding 50 plus employees.
In addition, 71 percent of the employers surveyed expect to increase the salaries of their employees in the coming year. Of the 71 percent, 75 percent plan a salary increase of 1 to 3 percent, and 24 percent plan a 4 to 6 percent salary increase.
Meanwhile, in another new survey, about 6 percent of chief financial officers of companies in the Milwaukee area expect to hire accounting and finance professionals in the second quarter of 2006.
For the first time, the Milwaukee market is included in the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index. The Milwaukee hiring outlook is well above the national hiring rate of 1 percent.
The local poll includes responses from 100 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in the Milwaukee area with 20 or more employees. To view the national results, visit www.roberthalf.com/PressRoom.
"Many of the companies that are hiring are doing so to accommodate business expansion activities during 2006," said Max Messmer, chairman and chief executive officer of Menlo, Calif.-based Robert Half International Inc., the world’s largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting, finance and information technology. "Firms also are adding full-time staff and working with consulting professionals for corporate governance-related compliance and remediation initiatives."
