By QINA LIU
qliu@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1613

With improvement in the stock market and increasing consumer confidence, staffing agencies are forecasting a positive picture in manufacturing, engineering, banking, technology, legal and health-care fields.

Randy Strauss, CEO of StraussGroup Inc., said manufacturing is seeing the greatest demand for jobs here in Western New York and elsewhere, and a good indicator of this continual growth is an increase in contract staffing.

"Typically, if they start increasing their contract and temporary staffing payrolls, they will eventually convert many of those into permanent employees, so your unemployment rate will go down," he said.

Paul Alberti, owner of SPS Careers Inc. - which specializes in manufacturing, from automotive to mechanics and machinists - said he also sees an increase in labor and manufacturing jobs, from shipping to trucking. He predicted there will be a labor shortage this year because of the number of people who want to continue receiving unemployment benefits.

"You tell me if there is a hard time finding jobs when there are 28 pages of jobs on WNY Jobs," he said, referring to a classified website.

Strauss attributes an increase in engineering, safety and manufacturing opportunities to consumer confidence in buying larger luxury items such as cars. While it's a buyer's market, however, because of the high amount of foreclosures and short sales, new homes aren't being built, he said. That negatively affects such industries as drywall and brick production.

He also sees a decrease in the total volume of refinancing compared to last year, saying many people have already refinanced so the demand is much lower.

"Last year, the mortgage banking industry, for example, did a total of $1.6 trillion in new originations. Of that $1.6 trillion, approximately 80 percent of that was refinances - people with high interest rates who wanted to get down to the fours and fives," he said. "This year, the total volume is going to decrease from $1.6 trillion to $1 trillion."

Bank mergers, acquisitions and consolidations - such as the recent consolidation of HSBC Bank - have led to an increase in the number of unemployed bankers, according to Strauss.   

But while some areas in banking are shaky, he said employers are demanding people who can predict and manage risk because banks are starting to lend more credit to small and midsize startups and other businesses to keep the economy flowing.  

He said employers also are looking for Web developers and analysts to fill openings in the technology and telecommunications sectors, which are seeing growth from companies demanding new technology.

Carolyn Gala, CEO of Key Resource Group, said the legal arena is growing and clients are looking for workers with strong word-processing skills and analytical ability. They're hiring entry-level candidates with skills and personality.

"If a candidate has the right skill set, is ambitious and hardworking but doesn't have experience in a legal setting, many of our clients are willing to bring them on and train them," she said.

Dharshan Jayasinghe, meanwhile, is managing partner of StraussGroup and president of the health-care and life sciences division. He said he sees a dramatic increase in health-care positions, including physical and occupational therapists, physician's assistants and nurses. He attributes it, in part, to the growth of privatized physician-owned organizations, as well as people looking for more convenient health-care options.

"A year and a half ago, the marketplace was saturated with unemployed health-care workers," he said. "Those people right now are getting absorbed into organizations. They are finding jobs."  

Jayasinghe predicts the industry will continue to grow as organizations from Pennsylvania and Ohio start to move into Western New York. And while there may be additional opportunities in the health field, Jayasinghe said there isn't an equal compensation structure for employees. Typically, nurses outside of the region are paid more, he said.

"That's a good thing - people getting jobs - but those jobs haven't started generating the type of salaries I'm seeing outside of Western New York," he said.

He also sees movement between companies by people who are tired of overworking and being underpaid, especially after companies downsized and consolidated job duties during the recession.

"If you're an employer right now, and you're the CEO or one of the managers or directors of your company, you should focus on your retention strategy," Jayasinghe said.

Despite job openings, to truly secure a position, Strauss said employees must be at the top of their game.

"You have to be a revenue-generator or you have to fulfill that very specific void in an organization," he said. "And you have to be the best of what you do because for every job available, there's 10 people who can fill and there are 100 people who apply."

He is seeing more job orders from companies, but things still aren't on par with the "heyday of the mid-2000s."

"We're seeing better than the 2008 to the 2010 era," he said. "And I think for the next six to seven years, you're going to see a gradual increase of these industries, a lowering of unemployment and new jobs."