Employers Plan To Scale Back Hiring

Milwaukee, WI, December 11, 2007—A Manpower Inc. survey said today that U.S. employers are scaling back their hiring plans for the first quarter of 2008.

Manpower Inc. said its employment index for January through March fell to its lowest level since early 2004.

The survey was consistent with recent Labor Department statistics. Employers added 94,000 workers to payrolls in November and the unemployment rate held at 4.7 percent.

Twenty-two percent of surveyed companies said they will boost payrolls in the first quarter, down from 27% in the previous three months.

Employers in five of 10 industries polled says they will limit hiring next quarter compared with the previous three months. Manpower's measure of hiring intentions was weakest for construction companies.