U.S. employers plan to boost hiring during the second quarter because demand for products and services is beyond the capacity of their current workforce, according to a survey released today by Manpower Inc. Twenty-eight percent of the 16,000 employers who were polled said they intend to increase their staffs between April and June from the first quarter, compared with 20 percent in the first quarter. The share expecting to reduce hiring dropped to 6 percent from 13 percent. ``The core growth of businesses is steadily increasing and what you're seeing is latent, pent-up demand for workers,'' Jeffrey Joerres, Manpower's chief executive, said in an interview. The Milwaukee company is the world's No. 2 supplier of temporary staff, behind Switzerland's Adecco SA, by revenue.
The report adds to evidence that the economy will continue to produce jobs after six monthly gains. Because employment growth has been less than forecast in recent months, Federal Reserve policy makers are likely to keep the benchmark interest rate at almost a 46-year low of 1 percent when they meet today, according to economists. Jobs will also remain a central issue in this year's U.S. campaign for president. John F. Kerry, the Massachusetts senator and Democratic challenger, says President George W. Bush hasn't done enough for the unemployed. About 1.6 million Americans have dropped out of the workforce in the past year, figures from the Labor Department show. Payrolls rose by 21,000 jobs in February, a fraction of what economists had anticipated. ``There are signs that the employment situation is improving, but the question is how fast and how quickly those people who have lost their jobs over the past few years will regain their jobs and steady income,'' Keitaro Matsuda, senior economist at Union Bank of California, said in an interview.
Regional Outlook
Hiring is expected to improve in each U.S. region and industry surveyed, Manpower said. Job prospects in the construction industry are the strongest of the 10 industries polled, particularly in southern U.S. states that include Alabama, Florida and Texas, the report said. Forty-two percent of construction employers polled nationwide said they plan to increase hiring. The net employment outlook, derived by subtracting the percentage planning to decrease staff levels from the share planning an increase, rose to 20 in the second quarter when adjusted for seasonal variations. That compares with 13 in the first quarter. The employment outlook ``has not been this promising since the first quarter of 2001,'' Manpower said. That is just as the last U.S. recession was about to begin.
The job picture is brightest in the southern U.S., where employers have been among the most optimistic about hiring plans, Manpower said. The dimmest job prospects in the second quarter are expected to be in northeastern U.S. states, which include New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the staffing company said.
Survey Details
The survey was conducted by phone during the last week of January and the first week of February, Joerres said. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.8 percentage point. The survey doesn't ask respondents how many people they plan to hire, what type of jobs would be filled, or what those jobs would pay, Joerres said. A report yesterday from the Fed showed that U.S. industrial production rose a larger-than-forecast 0.7 percent in February after increasing 0.8 percent in January. The largest two-month gain since October-November 1999 added to expectations that manufacturers may start to hire more workers to keep up with orders. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has become more optimistic about employment. ``In all likelihood, employment will begin to increase more quickly before long as output continues to expand,'' Greenspan said in testimony before Congress Thursday. ///