iCIMS Hire Expectations™

The rumor mill is in top gear this month with some in the blogosphere warning of a coming double-dip recession.  While the jury is still out on that, Ben Bernanke's remarks at the Federal Reserve on Friday made it clear that the recovery is moving slowly.  The good news is that the Federal Reserve is prepared to step in to provide additional stimulus, if necessary.  During his speech, Bernanke noted that despite the "recent slowing" in economic growth, "it is reasonable to expect some pickup in growth in 2011 and in subsequent years."

So we can't expect the economy to recover overnight, I get it.  I think some of us probably hoped it would, with the stock market and retail sales bouncing back tremendously at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, but our hopes were dashed.  Mr. Bernanke did make some promising arguments, though, for example the personal savings rate is much higher than it has been for multiple quarters, and household wealth-to-income ratios are getting back to their historical norms.  He says that "Stronger household finances, rising incomes, and some easing of credit conditions will provide the basis for more-rapid growth in household spending next year."

Bernanke's words were soothing to investors' ears (the DOW is up over 150 points!) but what I personally find interesting is how self-fulfilling economic outlooks can be.  If the public is convinced that there will be a double-dip recession, they will reign in their spending and save it instead. But, guess what should happen? People need to start believing things can get better before they will, and any change in public opinion has to start on the ground floor.

Luckily iCIMS is up to the task. We have a lot to be proud of--we've managed to grow rapidly, even during these tough few years. Just recently we made the INC 500l5000 list of the fastest growing companies for the fifth year in a row, so people are clearly still hiring. If a company which depends entirely on the creation of jobs can thrive, it's time to start believing.

Take it from Bernanke or take it from me, things will get better.