Survey: Continued Hiring Confidence Expected in th
Milwaukee, WI, December 13, 2005--Employers plan to carry over their positive hiring sentiments into 2006, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc. This rounds out two consecutive years of consistent job prospects.
"U.S. businesses are not aggressively seeking to increase staff levels as they enter the new year. Instead, they are looking back over the past several quarters and are concluding that hiring is still on target with their operational needs," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc.
Of the 16,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 23% anticipate an increase in hiring activity for the first quarter of 2006, while 10 percent expect to decrease staff levels. Sixty-one percent of employers surveyed foresee no change in hiring plans, while 6% are unsure of their staffing needs. The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook for the first three months of the year is 20%, identical to the fourth quarter of 2005 and nearly the same as a year ago.
Employers in six out of 10 industry sectors surveyed foresee minimal changes in hiring activity as they move from the fourth quarter into the new year, including Durable and Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale/Retail Trade, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate, Education and Public Administration.
"Although hiring projections have remained steady for two years, different stories emerge each quarter from the industry sectors, and Construction is the lead story for first quarter of 2006. In spite of interest rate and housing bubble speculation, Construction employers are forging ahead with their most optimistic job forecast in 27 years," said Joerres.
Conversely, the hiring pace is likely to soften from the fourth quarter in the Transportation/Public Utilities and Services sectors. A more visible slowdown is expected in the Mining sector, where hiring managers report a moderate slide in employment plans.
Among the U.S. regions, stronger hiring patterns are in store for the South and the West when compared with the fourth quarter outlook. Little change is anticipated in the Midwest, while employers in the Northeast foresee a noticeable chill in hiring.
In addition to the United States, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted in 22 other countries and territories. The quarterly report from Manpower Inc., is the most extensive, forward-looking employment survey in the world, gathering data from more than 45,000 employers across the globe each quarter.
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today revealed that first-quarter employment prospects are expected to be strongest in India, New Zealand, Taiwan, United States and Australia. On the other hand, employers in Germany, Italy and Austria are forecasting negative hiring expectations for the quarter ahead, with their counterparts in Sweden and France reporting their weakest hiring outlooks since the survey began in these countries in the third quarter of 2003. While 19 of 23 countries surveyed reported positive hiring outlooks for the quarter ahead, 11 of 23 were weaker compared to last year at this time and most of the lower outlooks are from European employers.
