US employers report second-quarter hiring plans are relatively stable compared to the first quarter and unchanged from last year at this time, according to the second-quarter-quarter 2016 Manpower employment outlook survey released today by ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE: MAN).

Globally, employer hiring confidence is strongest in India, Japan, Taiwan, Colombia and Guatemala. The weakest forecasts are reported in Brazil, France and Italy.

ManpowerGroup’s survey found 22% of US employers plan to increase staff in the second quarter, 4% plan to decrease staff, 72% expect no change in staff and 2% responded “didn’t know.” That results in a net employment outlook of 16% when seasonally adjusted. In comparison, the first-quarter employment outlook was 17% with seasonal adjustment.

“The U.S. labor market is strong compared to the global situation, with the economy still generating a sufficient number of jobs to keep the unemployment rate down,” said Kip Wright, senior VP, Manpower North America. “However, we now live in a world of ‘certain uncertainty,’ where increased volatility may be here to stay. As a result, organizations and individuals need to be more agile in order to better adapt to this rapidly evolving environment, and a key differentiator to success is attracting and developing the right skills.”

Employers in Nebraska, Idaho, Rhode Island and Iowa reported the strongest net employment outlooks, while Wyoming, Nevada, Louisiana and New Jersey project the weakest outlooks.

Employers in all 13 industry sectors reported a net positive outlook. The industries with the highest seasonally adjusted net employment outlooks are leisure and hospitality at 31%, wholesale and retail trade at 22%, transportation and utilities at 19%, and professional and business services at 18%. Mining and “other services” had the lowest seasonally adjusted net employment outlooks at 2% and 9% respectively.

All four US regions surveyed reported a positive net employment outlook. Employers in the Midwest and South regions reported the strongest seasonally adjusted outlook at 17% each. The West region followed at 16% while the Northeast reported a seasonally adjusted outlook of 15%.

Compared to the same time last year, employers in the West report a slightly weaker outlook, while employers in the Northeast, Midwest and South anticipate a relatively stable hiring pace.

ManpowerGroup’s employment outlook survey includes responses from more than 11,000 US employers.

Canada hiring trends

Canadian employers anticipate a “fair” hiring climate in the second quarter, with employers in the public administration sector reporting the strongest outlook, according to ManpowerGroup’s data for Canada.

In Canada, 15% of employers expect to increase staffing levels, 5% anticipate a decrease, 78% forecast no change and 2% are unsure about hiring plans. This results in a net employment outlook of 7% on a seasonally adjusted basis, on par when compared to the previous quarter and a three percentage point decrease from the same quarter last year.

“Overall employment levels remain little changed across Canada,” said Michelle Dunnill, Manpower area manager for Toronto, Mississauga and Markham. “We’re noticing gains in some areas are being offset by declines in others. However, as the Canadian dollar remains low, we expect to see manufacturing begin to pick up, increasing demand for skilled labour.”

Employers in Atlantic Canada expect the most encouraging hiring climate for the second quarter, reporting a net employment outlook of 9%. Employers in Ontario anticipate a modest hiring climate with an outlook of 7%, while employers in Western Canada and Quebec project a conservative hiring pace with outlooks of 6% each.

The transportation and public utilities industry reported the highest seasonally adjusted outlook at 16%, followed by services and manufacturing-non-durables at 14% and 13% respectively. Education posted the lowest outlook at -7%, followed by manufacturing-durables at -2% and finance, insurance and real estate at 0%.

ManpowerGroup’s employment outlook survey includes responses from more than 1,900 Canadian employers.