Exec hiring may be on the rise

If they can get to work in all the snow, The U.S. Senate is scheduled this week to consider a bill to help the unemployment situation. Senators will also haggle over whether they will continue a program that increased the number of weeks unemployment can be collected. Typically, states pay unemployment for 26 weeks. The federal government has been paying for up to 73 additional weeks, for a total of 99 weeks, in the states with the highest jobless rates.

While things still seem dismal to many who have had no luck finding a job, the unemployment picture may be brightening for some. I chatted yesterday with Mickey Matthews, vice president for North America for Stanton Chase International, a global executive search firm. Matthews, who is headquartered in Baltimore, said hiring is on the upswing for many high-level executives.

Stanton Chase later this month will release a national survey it conducted of recent hiring practices. "We don't think we'll see it at previous levels, but we are seeing an increase in the hiring of executives by small to medium capital companies, those with revenues between $50 million and $250 million," Matthews said.

But while hiring may be on the rise, compensation is not. "We are seeing some compression in terms of salary," he said.

Hopefully, executives will be able to accept making due with less in this economy, the way so many others have been forced to do, .