Peoria area employers expect to hire at a healthy pace during the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
From October to December, 23 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while none expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Doug Orear. Another 77 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels.
“Hiring intentions among area employers are more optimistic than in the third quarter when 23 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add employees, and 10 percent planned to reduce staff levels,” said Orear. “Employer confidence about hiring is stronger as compared to one year ago. For the fourth quarter of 2006, 13 percent of companies surveyed planned to boost staff levels and none expected to reduce payrolls.”
For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Construction, Durable and Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services. Hiring in Transportation/Public Utilities, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate, Education and Public Administration is expected to remain unchanged.
After seasonal adjustments have been applied to the survey results, the Quarter 4 2007 hiring pace in the United States is expected to remain unchanged from the July to September period. However, the hiring pace is expected to be slightly slower than last year at this time. Overall, hiring plans have been weaker throughout 2007 versus 2006.
Among the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 27 percent foresee an increase in hiring activity, and 9 percent expect a decline in staff levels from October to December. Fifty-eight percent anticipate no change in the hiring pace, while 6 percent are undecided about their hiring plans. IBI
