John Challenger Longer Quotations

More and more human resource executives are coming to the realization that they can no longer drag their heels on hiring decisions. If they do, it is increasingly likely that the candidate will be off the market before the offer is made.

Many of the weakest firms no longer exist, and those once considered the titans of the Internet are trimming payroll and other costs to the bare minimum.

Those are two areas of the economy that should be perking up right now if we were in a recovery mode, ... Normally, businesses hire temp workers and work their employees longer -- this drop is of real concern and raises the specter of a double-dip recession.

We are no longer seeing the blockbuster cuts in the tens of thousands that cause big headlines, ... Instead, we are seeing cuts of 2,500 (to) 5,000. While most announcements of that size do not get a lot of media coverage, those are the ones that give us (big) figures such as those in March.

The average search time for executives earning over $100,000 is about a month longer than other wage earners in the same community.

Consumers are said to have more income (including the Bush tax cut), but are spending less. That may be the strongest indication that recovery from the current situation may be longer off than Wall Street analysts expect.

The longer search times reflect additional risks in the job market. High energy prices may be slowing companies hiring plans and could result in the postponement of expansion programs.