U.S. employers will remain cautious in the fourth quarter with 27% planning to increase staff and 9% planning to decrease, according to the latest employment outlook survey released today by Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN). The seasonally adjusted net employment outlook — employers adding staff minus those cutting staff — for the fourth quarter was 18% compared with 20% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

"It is not unexpected that U.S. employers have conservative hiring plans for the fourth quarter," said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc. "The market forces that impact hiring do not conclusively point toward growth or decline, and that is a likely contributor to the prudent hiring trends apparent in the survey throughout 2007."

Hiring is expected to slow in the mining and transportation/public utilities sectors, according to the survey. Construction, durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance/real estate, education and services employers project little change in hiring from the third quarter.

The survey questioned more than 14,000 U.S. employers.

In Canada, 25% of employers planned to add staff in the fourth quarter while 9% planned to decrease, according to Manpower's employment outlook survey for Canada, also released today. The seasonally adjusted net employment outlook was 19%, compared with 21% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

The Canadian survey questioned more than 1,700 employers.