As the economy slowly improves, four in 10 employers are planning to rehire some former workers they laid off as either full-time employees or as consultants and freelancers to add needed skills, according to a survey by an Avon career transition and coaching firm.
Thirty-seven percent do not plan to rehire any laid-off workers, and 23 percent are unsure of their plans, according to the OI Partners-SIMA Career Coaching Inc. survey of 318 businesses.
Financial services companies are most likely to rehire some laid-off employees, while manufacturing companies are the second most likely, the survey found. Government agencies and nonprofit institutions are least likely to rehire laid-off workers, followed by health care employers.
Fifty-two percent of employers have at least occasionally rehired laid-off workers as either full-time employees, consultants, or for project work. Sixteen percent have frequently rehired some laid-off employees; 36 percent have occasionally done so, while 29 percent rarely do, and 19 percent never do.
The top reason companies are rehiring, or planning to rehire, laid-off employees is that their skills are known to the employers, OI Partners said.
Other reasons: they fit into the company’s culture and environment; there is a shortage of experts in specialty areas such as information technology, marketing, and finance; and it is less risky than hiring new employees.
“This attitude represents a major shift in employers’ rehiring philosophy,” said Ed Poff, managing partner of OI Partners-SIMA. “In the past, companies would not rehire laid-off employees, but now they are more willing, and more employees may consider returning.”
