Manpower Survey Shows Some Hiring Potential

Posted Mar 9th 2010 11:30AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Economic Data

According to a study released earlier this morning by the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, roughly 5% of employers believe they will hire during the second quarter. While this percentage is better than the same quarter a year ago, it is virtually flat from the first quarter. In fact, it is down slightly, as a net 6% of firms hired in the first quarter.

Keep in mind that the data doesn't measure the number of jobs. It measures the portion of firms planning to hire less those intending to lay off workers.

"We continue to remain cautiously optimistic," said Melanie Holmes, vice president of world of work solutions at Manpower. "For those who are currently unemployed and looking for work, we anticipate that U.S. employers are inching ahead. We are heading into the right direction, but the labor market will really take some time before it begins to accelerate." Holmes continued, "We are anticipating that more employers will add than decrease, but we don't know how many jobs that means."

Elsewhere in the report, 73% of employers surveyed stated that they plan to maintain their current staff levels. The survey also showed that the employment outlook for 12 of the 13 industry sectors is better in the second quarter than in the first quarter. The only sector that saw a decline during the quarter was education and health services. This group has a net employment outlook of 3%, compared to the first quarter's 4%.

Tags: hiring, inthenews, job growth, jobs, Manpower Survey