The best advice: Don't assume anything yet.

Unemployment will vary from industry to industry, from region to region and from one occupational discipline to another. Moreover, in many cases it will be short-lived. The main reason that there will be any increase in unemployment figures at all is that many laid-off workers will lack the skills to fill the new positions and/or will live in the wrong place to take advantage of them. Thus some jobs will go begging, for lack of people to fill them.

Getting the Corporation's Foot off the Brake

Here's the bottom line: There are not legions of highly qualified, increasingly inexpensive job candidates out there who are out of work and anxious to join your organization.

Virtually all Sanford Rose Associates' offices continue to report higher demand and fierce competition for highly qualified candidates in recent months. Demand remains strong in such diverse business roles as marketing, engineering, knowledge management and general management. It can be argued that, in times of corporate belt-tightening, it is more important than ever to attract the very best talent for those critical positions that can make or break a company's performance. Since leaders and visionaries are always in short supply, don't look for ...