It’s a little like knowing it’s cold outside before opening your eyes on a winter morning. Rate the economy for third party recruiters? Sure, you betcha.

Regardless, with the very kind assistance of Gerry Crispin, Improved Experience has been taking the RBC Pulse on this topic for the past few weeks…not so much to learn what we already knew, but to learn more about the rich variety of perspectives in our own community about the issue. Also, we wanted to set a baseline for future Pulse surveys on the topic. It won’t always be so bad out there, you know.

In total, 102 people responded to this first survey between December 5th and 31st (you can still participate if you like by clicking on a Pulse link anywhere on the RBC site), representing 26 industries currently hiring in the US and around the globe. No revelations in the results: those who took the survey generally agreed that the economy is pretty dismal, and economic indicators of growth aren’t doing so well either. How dismal, however, appears to depend on where you sit in the quagmire.

The ratings discussed below correspond to a 6-point scale in which 0=Strongly Disagree and 5=Strongly Agree. Here’s a quick look at each question in the survey that related to economic growth indicators, and what the members of the RBC community had to say about them:

“The current economic conditions are favorable for third-party recruiters in my industry.”

99 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 1.56; 8.8% said the issue was critical to them, and 2.9% remained neutral. Of all demographics, business owners had the bleakest outlook with an aggregate score of 1.0 – not surprisingly, as it points directly to the P&L. Recruiting managers were slightly more optimistic, assigning a score of 1.71; and recruiters (who were still rather sour about the subject) were kindest with an aggregate score of 2.27. So which subset of recruiters is feeling the most positive? Among corporate, agency, and executive recruiters, only executive recruiters appear to see a silver lining among the clouds with a score of 2.27.

“Companies are growing rapidly in my industry.”

100 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 1.73; 8.8% said the issue was critical, and 1.9% remained neutral. The most highly represented industry in the survey was Information Technology and Services, with 18.6% of the respondents working or making hires in that industry; they scored this question at 1.73 points, not so coincidentally the same score awarded by those in the Computer Software industry. Next in terms of industry representation was HR, Recruiting, and Staffing (17.7%), who awarded the question an aggregate score of 1.06 points. Were there any bright spots? As a matter of fact, the Hospital and Healthcare industry (7.8%) awarded the question 3.25 points, and (although it was sparsely represented), Environmental Services (< 1%) awarded the question a whopping 5 points.

“Companies are selling more goods and services in my industry.”

23 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 1.74; 1.9% said the issue was critical, and less than one tenths of a percent remained neutral. An interesting sleeper here on the positive side: those representing the Libraries and Museums industry scored the question at 4.0 points, and Hospital and Healthcare scored it at 3.0 points. The only other item of note was that corporate recruiters and agency managers both scored this question at 4.0 points each; I wouldn’t read too much into it though, as the data set was much too small to make statistical inference to the rest of the RBC community.

“Companies are committing resources to future products and services in my industry.”

23 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 1.91; less than one tenth of a percent said the issue was critical, and no one remained neutral. Still pretty dismal in terms of overall score, but once again the Hospital and Healthcare industry saved the day by scoring the question at 3.0.

“Companies are actively introducing new products and services to customers in my industry.”

Now we’re warming up. 23 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 2.09; less than one tenth of a percent said the issue was critical, and no one remained neutral. A variation on the question theme above, it still appears that only Hospital and Healthcare feels somewhat positive with an aggregate score of 3.0.

“Companies are outsourcing recruitment operations more frequently in my industry.”

22 people answered this question with an aggregate score of 1.55; 2.9% said the issue was critical, and less than one tenth of a percent remained neutral. Among all job types, only Agency Recruiting Managers scored this favorably at 3.50; among industries, Hospital and Healthcare also scored it at 3.50. There is some intersection in those two demographic perspectives, as 50% of the total responses indicated they were a part of both groups.

So with 102 participants in the survey, there were still lots of folks in the RBC community who didn't speak up, and lots of industries that weren't represented. What sense do you make out of all this? Does it agree or disagree with your personal experience?

Next week the discussion will continue with a look at survey questions that focused on indicators of the competition for talent. Contrary to the dismal outlook on the economy, the competition for talent is alive and well... but more on that to come.

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In my day job, I’m the Head of Products for Improved Experience, where we help employers use feedback to measure and manage competitive advantage in hiring and retention. Learn more about us here.