Hottest Recruiting Niches for 2012

With the  New Year here, the prognosticators of the recruiting field have peered into their crystal balls and have announced their predictions for the hottest hiring trends of 2012. Some of the predictions are—well, predictable—while others may offer surprises. Because job availability varies by region, the results are not listed in any particular order. Health care remains a strong, growing force for job creation and growth. Virtually every branch of this field seems to grow, from medical records and nurse’s aides all the way up to doctors and surgeons. Most of this is due to the implementation of President Obama’s Health Care bill, but experts say that the retirement of Baby Boomers will strike the upper echelons of health care, with new doctors needed for rural areas and small practices. High-tech continues to grow, especially in the field of cloud computing. The sales and marketing elements of cloud computing have shown a tremendous jump in available positions over the last quarter. Because of the expertise needed, these positions may be very difficult to fill, but the demand is expected to increase. However, it is projected that Management Analyst positions may be easier to fill as there are plenty of qualified candidates in the work force. Outside of cloud computing, demand for system developers and project managers continues to climb. The demand for accountants is expected to rise in 2012. This appears to be especially true in the New York City area where demand seems to be outweighing supply. Wanted Analytics reports a 25% increase in openings during the fourth quarter of 2011 than in the same period in 2010. Cost accountants may be easier to place because of their transferable skill sets, but tax accountants are also needed. This field may be highly competitive for recruiting companies as they work to fill the available positions. The field of Industrial Engineering is showing tremendous growth, especially in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Boston and Detroit. The jobs in Houston are proving hard to fill as the local talent pool of industrial engineers covers a mere .17% of the total workforce. To fill the positions, recruiters may want to tap into the talent pools in places like Houma, Louisiana and Palm Bay, Florida, where studies show a greater percentage of industrial engineers. Finally, manufacturing and production are starting to grow. In Wanted Analytics’ recent report, most of the major sub-categories—including machinists, front-line supervisors, printing machine operators, and assemblers—all made significant upturns in the past 90 days. Welders were the only category that went down (by 16%), but the demand for dressmakers and tailors shot up 313%! The talent pool for these jobs varies widely by city. Wanted Analytics reports that Chicago has a rich talent pool for these positions, but recruiters filling the same jobs in Minneapolis could find the task much more challenging. As the economy and job markets slowly improve, all indications show that the above industries are the most in-demand. However, only time will tell. You can check back next year and see how the predictions held up.