Hiring, Layoffs and Outplacement for December 2009 and Early 2010 in Puerto Rico

Newland Associates, a leading human resources consulting and training firm, conducted a survey regarding hiring and layoff plans, and outplacement practices in Puerto Rico.  Seventy five organizations participated in the survey, which shed light into the potential layoffs that can be expected on the Island during the upcoming holiday season and into the first quarter of 2010.

Below are some of the findings highlighted in the full report that includes participants from diverse business sectors and government. (Download the full report here.)

1. Of the 75 organizations that participated in the survey, 47.9% have no plans to hire additional employees.
2. Over a third of these organizations (34.4%) either expects to layoff personnel or are at least considering their options.
3. More than one in every four (27.3%) respondents in organizations with over 500 employees expect to layoff personnel.
4. Organizations in the 101 to 500 employee category showed the stronger employment outlook with 24.2% expecting to hire staff, while only 15.2% of them were forecasting layoffs.
5. 54.7% of participating organizations offer outplacement services to departing employees, with the figure jumping to over two thirds (68.2%) in the over 500 employees category.
6. Outplacement services are offered across all employee levels broadly at rates of over 63%, except for blue collar workers where only 39% of respondents offered these services.  However, a substantial 60% of organizations with over 500 employees offered outplacement services to blue collar personnel.
7. The clear favorite for outplacement services is one-on-one individual programs with an adoption of 76.2% followed by outplacement group sessions with 50%.  A smaller percentage of adoption (19%) is demonstrated for virtual outplacement services.
8. Smaller organizations up to 500 employees strongly preferred individual programs, whereas those with over 500 employees had a considerable preference for group programs.

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