Local Update

Peoria area employers expect to hire at a brisk pace during the second quarter of 2006, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From April to June, 33 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while none expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Doug Orear. Another 57 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels, and 10 percent aren’t certain of their hiring plans.

“In the Peoria area, employers expect significantly more hiring activity than in the first quarter, when 7 percent of the companies interviewed intended to increase headcount and 40 percent planned to decrease it,” said Orear. “Employers also are considerably more optimistic about hiring than they were a year ago, when 17 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 17 percent intended to cut back.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in construction, durable and non-durable goods manufacturing, and services. Hiring in transportation/public utilities, wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance/ real estate, education, and public administration is expected to remain unchanged.

According to the national seasonally adjusted results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, U.S. employers show no signs of changing their healthy hiring pace in the second quarter.

Of the 16,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 30 percent foresee an increase in hiring activity for the second quarter of 2006, while 6 percent expect a reduction in payrolls. Fifty-eight percent report no change in hiring plans, and 6 percent have yet to determine their staffing needs. The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook for April to June is 21 percent. IBI