The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation Report predicts almost a one-third employment growth in the service sectors for January 2007 compared to January 2006. Yet, new hire compensation expectations (the amount paid to a new hire compared to existing salaries for that type of position) actually show a slight decrease. Interestingly, salaries are not tracking the difficulty firms are encountering in finding qualified candidates to fill vacant positions. According to the report:

“The Recruiting Difficulty Index measures how difficult it is for firms to recruit “A” candidates to fill their “A” positions, i.e., to recruit highly qualified applicants to fill those positions that are of greatest strategic importance to their firms…Within the service sector, the Index has climbed from 16.9 in December 2005 to 22.3 in December 2006…vacancies remain extremely difficult to fill and firms continue to report that it is very difficult to recruit “A” candidates to fill their “A” positions.”