Hiring Predictions for 2010: Can Vault Readers Continue Thei

Well, well. Not that we're in the business of shameless flattery, but it would seem that Vault's readership is a particularly good-looking well- informed group of people with its finger firmly on the pulse of modern society. Last month your opinion of the hiring market correctly foreshadowed the announcement of November's upswing in hiring. And just last week, we started running a poll on our homepage asking you to vote for the person who has had the most influence on the business climate in 2009.

As you can see from the results, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was the clear winner, amassing almost half of all the votes cast. So why is this a reason for Vault readers to once again be patting themselves on the back? Why, that's as simple as guessing which economic boffin TIME named as their Person of the Year 2009. (And, while you're at it, why not compare the people Wall Street Journal readers consider to be 2009's most influential newsmakers. Hint: Bernanke doesn't make the list, but Brett Favre does.)

Given this recent run of poll-savvy form, the results of another poll we've been running of late give rise to some optimism for next year: our survey of hiring sentiment for 2010.

As you can see, fully 70 percent of respondents are of the opinion that things at least aren't going to get any worse in the hiring market next year, with a majority of those—47 percent of the total sample—convinced that the next 12 months will see the unemployment figure once again settling into single digits.

If there was ever a poll where I wanted Vault's readers to be right, it's that one. Hopefully the winning streak will continue well into next year.

--Posted by Phil Stott, Vault.com