Job Survey Finds Little Change in Prospects for Q4
Manpower’s closely watched Employment Outlook Survey found that the percentage of hiring managers expecting to add staff in the October to December period dropped to 24% from the third-quarter figure of 27%. A year ago, prior to the September 11 attacks, 24% of Manpower-surveyed employers had also projected a hiring increase.
About 9% of companies said they intend to reduce their work force, up from 8% in the previous quarter’s interview. Manpower researchers said the figures suggest that the job situation isn’t likely to improve this year.
Seven See Q4 Dips
Of the 10 sectors that the survey tracks, employers in seven of them expect their fourth-quarter hiring to remain flat or below the third quarter.
Those sectors are:
- mining
- services
- public administration
- construction
- public and private education
- transportation and public utilities
- wholesale and retail trades.
Only in finance, insurance and real estate, do employers anticipate their fourth-quarter hirings to exceed expectations they expressed for last year’s fourth-quarter survey and for this year’s third-quarter survey.
The survey is based on telephone interviews with almost 16,000 public and private employers in 474 markets.