MILWAUKEE – Manpower Inc.’s latest Employment Outlook Survey, released last week, shows U.S. employers plan to “tone down” hiring activity during the second quarter of 2007, and the Providence area’s outlook is among the weakest nationwide.
Providence-area employers anticipate a “dull” job market in the second quarter, the survey shows. From April to June, only 13 percent of companies surveyed expect to hire more workers, while 23 percent expect to pare their payrolls, 51 percent expect to maintain current staffing levels and 13 percent are not certain of their plans.
Local job prospects were brightest in construction and finance/insurance/real estate, Manpower said. Manufacturers of durable goods had mixed expectations, while staff cuts were planned by employers in non-durable goods manufacturing, transportation/public utilities and wholesale/retail trade. In other sectors, no staffing changes were expected.
Manpower spokesman Scott Shelley said the Providence-area outlook was similar to that for the first quarter, but “much more modest” than a year ago, when 23 percent of companies surveyed thought job gains were likely and 13 percent planned to cut back.
