CFOs Reveal Second-Quarter Hiring Plans

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    Robert Half Financial Hiring Index: Most Active Hiring Expected in
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    Transportation Industry
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TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ - Twenty per cent of chief financial officers (CFOs) plan to add full-time accounting and finance employees during the second quarter, while 11 per cent forecast staff decreases, according to the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index. The resulting net 9 per cent increase mirrors the previous quarter's forecast.

The majority of respondents are optimistic about their firm's business prospects. Nearly eight in 10 (78 per cent) CFOs reported they are at least somewhat confident in the second quarter's business prospects for their companies.

The Robert Half Financial Hiring Index, part of the company's quarterly Professional Employment Report (http://www.roberthalf.ca/per), is based on telephone interviews with more than 270 CFOs across Canada. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half International, the world's first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance.

"Organisations are making strategic hires in high-demand areas, such as financial analysis, business analysis and accounting," said Kathryn Bolt, Canadian president of Accountemps. "Firms also are taking greater initiative to retain their top performers who, in some instances, have more opportunities available to them."

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    Accounting and Finance Hiring -- By Industry
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Executives in the transportation industry expect to do the most hiring in the second quarter, according to the survey. A net 28 per cent of CFOs in the industry said they anticipate adding staff. This was followed by the retail industry, with a net 19 per cent of leaders planning to increase staff levels.

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    About the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index
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First published in 1992, the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index is conducted by an independent research firm and based on more than 270 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random sample of Canadian companies with 20 or more employees. For the study to be statistically representative and ensure that businesses from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by industry and company size (by number of employees). The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of company size within each industry.

The Financial Hiring Index is conducted as part of the Robert Half Professional Employment Report, which tracks hiring trends among professional occupations. More information about the Professional Employment Report is available at www.roberthalf.ca/per.

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    About Robert Half International
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Robert Half International was founded in 1948 and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its financial staffing divisions include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and senior-level project professionals, respectively. The company has more than 350 staffing locations worldwide and offers online job search services on its divisional websites, all of which can be accessed at www.roberthalf.ca.

ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL, 181 Bay St., Suite 820, Toronto, ON, M5J 2T3; Contact: Nadia Santoli, [phone], [email protected]