Wall Street Q4 Hiring Picture Improves

August 22, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The good news about Wall Street hiring for the remainder of the year is that - for a few more firms than earlier this year - the news is not bad.

According to a survey by Wall Street Services Inc., a financial services staffing company, nearly three in four (72%) of the executives contacted said their staffing levels would remain unchanged during 2003, Dow Jones reported. That was up slightly from the 69% who gave that assessment in the second quarter, in the regular survey of Wall Street staffing and bonuses.

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There was some other good news in the survey. The number of firms still looking to slash their workforce dropped to 2% in the latest poll from 5% in the second quarter. The survey found 14% believe they will augment their staffs with consultants and contractors, compared with 12% in the second quarter.

Also, salary budgets seem to be opening up a bit. Of those surveyed, more than half (53%) expect to grant raises to exempt, or salaried, employees this year, up from 44% in the second quarter. More than half of those surveyed also expect to grant raises to nonexempt employees, up from 35% in the earlier poll. Perhaps not surprisingly, in view of those trends, 53% of executives expect a bonus this year, up from 46% in the second quarter.

The survey, conducted by telephone last week, interviewed 100 executives and managers at a variety of stock and bond brokerages, investment securities firms and financial advisors in New York. The survey was first conducted in the second quarter.

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