From January to March, 19 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7 percent expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 69 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels and 5 percent are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a net employment outlook of 12 percent.
“Employers’ hiring expectations for Quarter 1 2013 are slightly stronger compared to Quarter 4 2012 when the net employment outlook was 10 percent,” said Manpower spokeswoman Sunny Ackerman. “Compared to one year ago when the net employment outlook was 7 percent, employers are more optimistic about their staffing plans.”
For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in construction, nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial activities, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. Employers in durable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities and education and health services plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in information, other services and government is expected to remain unchanged.
