PROVIDENCE – Employers in the Providence metro area expect to add workers “at a moderate pace” in the fourth quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today.
The local hiring outlook brightened compared with the third quarter, though it was unchanged after seasonal adjustment and dimmed slightly compared with a year ago. “Overall, hiring plans have been weaker throughout 2007 versus 2006,” the employment service agency noted in its report.
From October through December, 17 percent of companies surveyed expect to hire more workers while only 7 percent expect to pare their payrolls, for a “net employment outlook” of 10 percent. Another 43 percent expect to maintain their current hiring pace, while 33 percent are uncertain of their plans.
“Hiring intentions among area employers are more optimistic than in the third quarter, when 17 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add employees and 17 percent planned to reduce staff levels,” for a net outlook of zero, said Scott Shelley, a spokesman for the Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN).
Fourth-quarter job prospects appear to be best in manufacturing of durable and non-durable goods, and in the finance/insurance/real estate sector, Manpower found. Mixed intentions were found in the service sector, while job cuts were planned by employers in wholesale and retail trade.
Level staffing was planned by employers in the construction, transportation/public utilities, education and public administration sectors.
The outlook nationwide was somewhat brighter, Manpower found.
Among the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 27 percent expect to hire more workers and 9 percent to pare staff in the fourth quarter, yielding a net employment outlook of 18 percent. Fifty-eight percent expect no change in their current hiring pace, while 6 percent are undecided.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a global $18 billion work force recruitment, training, assessment, outplacement and consulting company. Results of its global third-quarter Manpower Employment Outlook Survey are available at www.manpower.com.
