Robert Half International News Release (03/29/12)

Advertising and marketing executives expect their firms to spend
more money on social media this year, according to a recent
survey by The Creative Group, a staffing company for interactive,
design, marketing, advertising, and public relations
professionals. The survey reveals that 53% of respondents expect
more marketing dollars to be devoted to Facebook, with 43%
anticipating increased spending on Twitter, 41% on Google+, 38%
on LinkedIn, and 36% on YouTube. “Although companies plan to
spend more on social media, finding the talent needed to oversee
these programs can pose a challenge,” says Donna Farrugia,
executive director of The Creative Group. “Bringing in
freelancers who have worked on successful social media
initiatives can be helpful, since these professionals can not
only develop and implement strategies but also impart their
expertise to core team members during the process.”

AMN Healthcare Services News Release (03/29/12)

AMN Healthcare’s latest “Use of Social Media and Mobile
by Healthcare Professionals” survey reveals that more
physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and pharmacists
are using social media to look for job opportunities, network
with colleagues, and apply for new positions. The percentage of
health care professionals using social media for job searches
climbed to about 33% in 2011 from 20% in 2010, and of those using
mobile job alerts, 10% secured an interview, 14% were offered a
job, and 8% obtained employment. In 2010, only 1% secured a job
through social media. Additionally, 75% of health care
professionals prefer Facebook over other social media sites when
searching for jobs. The survey indicates that employers have the
opportunity to use social media to recruit health care
professionals.

Gallup News Service (03/29/12) Lymari Morales; Joe
Daly

Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, and Richmond, VA, topped Gallup’s
Job Creation Index among the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas in 2011.
More than 33% of employees in each of the top-performing metro
areas said their company was hiring or expanding its work force.
Oklahoma City topped the list because of the low percentage of
employees (12%) who said their company was letting people go or
downsizing its work force. The Nashville, TN, and Orlando, FL,
areas rounded out the top five metro areas with the highest job
creation scores. The largest metro areas in the country—New
York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—ranked nearer the bottom of
the list than the top. However, every one of the top 50 metro
areas has a positive score.

Chicago Sun-Times (03/30/12) David Roeder

Employers across the country intend to hire 10.2% more new
college graduates this year than they did last year, according to
a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The 160 employers that participated in the survey said
engineering, business, accounting, and computer science majors
would comprise most of the hires. The average survey participant
reported 116 job openings, compared with 105 last year. Employers
in the Western and Southeastern U.S. have the most robust hiring
plans, at 33% and 18%, respectively.

Wanted Analytics (03/29/12) Abby Lombardi

Wanted Analytics says more than 42,000 job ads for truck drivers
were posted online during the past 30 days, up 42% from the same
period in 2011. Year-over-year increases in hiring demand were
greatest in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, and
Philadelphia, with job ads for truck drivers up 95% in Los
Angeles alone. Five locations where truck driving positions will
be easiest to fill are Salisbury, MD, Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL,
Michigan City-La Porte, IN, Miami, FL, and Bangor, ME. Positions
will be harder to fill and ads will remain online longer in
Lawrence, KS, Muncie, IN, Owensboro, KY, Corvalis, OR, and
Pueblo, CO.