Employers in Charlotte, NC; Omaha, NE; Albany, NY and Boise, ID expect to hire the most employees in the second quarter of 2016, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released by ManpowerGroup. Overall, the survey indicates stable hiring plans among U.S. employers for the second quarter of 2016. Taking into account seasonal variations, the Net Employment Outlook is up 16%, making anticipated hiring in the second quarter of 2016 relatively stable compared to the first quarter and unchanged from last year at this time.
Regionally, U.S. employers in the Midwest, Northeast and South expect hiring to remain relatively stable quarter over quarter, while employers in the West anticipate a slight decrease in hiring.
Among the 50 states, employers in Nebraska, Idaho, Rhode Island and Iowa report the strongest Net Employment Outlooks. Among employers in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, the strongest job prospects are expected in Charlotte, NC; Omaha, NE; Albany, NY; and Boise, ID.
Wyoming, Nevada, Louisiana and New Jersey project the weakest employment outlooks among the 50 states. At the metro level, the weakest outlooks are projected in Youngstown, OH; Akron, OH; Baton Rouge, LA; and Las Vegas, NV.
Hiring Plans On The National Level
Of the more than 11,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 22 percent anticipate increasing staff levels in the second quarter of 2016. This is a 2 percent increase from the first quarter of 2016, and unchanged from the same period in 2015. Four percent of employers expect workforce reductions, while 72 percent expect no change in hiring plans. The final 2 percent of employers are undecided about their hiring intentions, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook increase of 16%.
Taking a look at hiring by industry, employers have a positive outlook in all 13 industry sectors included in the survey, with Leisure & Hospitality (31%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (22%), Transportation & Utilities (19%) and Professional & Business Services (18%) employers reporting the strongest hiring intentions.
“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 Vice President, 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.”
Complete results for the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey are available online.
