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Manpower report finds hiring to cool in Q1

December 11, 2007
U.S. employers plan to hire at a slightly slower pace in the first quarter of 2008 than the first quarter of 2007, according to Manpower Inc.'s (NYSE: MAN) employer outlook survey released today.

It found that 22% of employers planned to increase their staffs in the upcoming quarter while 12% planned to cut back for a net employment outlook of 10%. That compares with a net employment outlook of 12% for the first quarter of this year.

"Looking at the industry sectors, hiring plans are relatively stable from three months ago and just slightly softer compared to last year at this time," said Jonas Prising, president of Manpower North America. "You might say that employers are getting one less latte a week — but they are still going to the coffee shop regularly."

Mining had the highest net employment outlook among industries at 23% while construction had the lowest at -6%. Geographically, the West had the strongest net employment outlook at 18% while the Midwest registered the lowest at 6%.

The report surveyed 14,000 U.S. employers.

In a separate report for Canada, Manpower found a net employment outlook of 6% for the first quarter of 2008. That's up from 3% for the first quarter of 2007 but down from 16% in the fourth quarter.