Job Slowdown? Headhunters Are On A Roll, Revenue For Executive Searches Is Up

Last week’s jobs report sent the stock market into one of the worst weeks for Wall Street since the start of the year.

While hiring appears to be weakening, the trend is going in the opposite direction for executive-level positions.

That's according to data shared by headhunting firm Korn Ferry KFY in its latest earnings call.

The talent acquisition service reported a 6% increase in revenue from its executive search arm in North America, as compared to the same period last year. The segment also accounted for 31% of its revenue during the latest quarter, as per earnings documents.

The trend is replicated globally, where the uptick was 3% when taking all territories into account. Korn Ferry is located in 53 countries across North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America.

"The level of work that we’re doing these days in executive search is probably the highest that I’ve seen," said Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison.

A lot of those searches are due to job succession, he added. As an unprecedented number of Americans retire, companies are in dire need of successors for high-level positions.

Read Also: The ‘Great Wait’ Economy: Jobs Data Paints Unique Picture, Analyst Says

Peak 65

This year, the U.S. experienced a trend that observers call "peak 65." That means that the number of workers reaching the retirement age of 65 is at the highest it's ever been.

The Alliance for Lifetime Income reports that an average of 11,000 Americans are entering retirement age each day this year. Through 2027, there will be an average of 4.1 million new retirees a year.

This demographic event is driving one of the largest executive renewal trends in U.S. history. And it goes against overall data on unemployment. The Labor Department showed consistent increases since March, with a 0.1% decrease between July and August.

"Over the next two to three years, the United States is probably going to lose 4 million, 5 million workers a year from the last of the baby boom retirements," said Burnison.

Korn Ferry benefits. The firm beat analyst estimates on Thursday for the latest quarter, reporting $682.761 million in sales which beat the consensus of $663.937 million by 2.84%, as per data from Benzinga Pro.

Jobs Data: The U.S. economy added 142,000 nonfarm payrolls in August, an improvement from July, but below economist expectations of 160,000.

And a recent revision by the Labor Department found that the jobs market added 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year leading up to March 2024.

The silver lining is that the recent jobs data has pushed a majority of traders to price in a 25% rate cut in the upcoming FOMC meeting in what one analyst referred to as "the moment we’ve all been waiting for".

Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured the public of the economy's resilience, despite recent job reports.

"We're seeing less frenzy in terms of hiring and job openings, but we're not seeing meaningful layoffs," said Yellen at a politics and policy event on Saturday.

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