Posts Tagged ‘job growth’

Manpower’s quarterly Employment Outlook Survey indicates that employers are forecasting largely flat job growth through the second quarter of 2009.

Manpower surveyed 31,800 employers, 15% of whom plan to expand their staffing levels between April and June, while a nearly equal amount, 14%, anticipate cutting their payrolls. However, the majority of those surveyed, 67%, said they expect no changes in staffing levels through early summer, according to the Manpower report.  (Roughly 4% of those queried remain undecided about hiring plans.)

The numbers, said Manpower CEO Jeffrey A. Joerres, illustrate employers’ delicate balancing act in seeking to churn out a profit without dismantling their workforce infrastructure.

Not surprisingly, the national survey also revealed that employers in nearly all industry sectors say they’ll be reducing their payrolls compared to the previous quarter. These sectors include mining, durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, information, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, other services and government. 

Employers in transportation and utilities, on the other hand, plan to keep hiring levels relatively stable for the second quarter. And while Americans may be scaling back their vacation plans, they still intend to travel somewhere, and as a result, leisure and hospitality employers anticipate more hiring activity. Employers in the battered construction sector are still projecting a negative outlook for this quarter, although it should be less painful than the previous quarter.

By geographic region, hiring in the Northeast is expected to be the most robust while employers in the Midwest and West are feeling less positive. Employers in the South, a heavily concentrated manufacturing region, project the weakest hiring pace during this period.  

Does Manpower’s employer survey hold any surprises for you? How is your employer’s business doing these days?