Steady growth in US jobs market in Q2: Manpower Survey

Steady growth in US jobs market in Q2: Manpower Survey

The labor market across the globe is rather upbeat about second quarter hiring prospects and the US is among those countries where employer confidence is particularly high, the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said.

Rising fuel prices and losses from Hurricane Katrina have done little to dampen employers' spirit, especially in the United States where one third of the 16,000 employers surveyed believed they would add more staff between April and June 2006. Nearly 60 percent said they saw no change in their previous quarter's outlook which was positive. A slim minority of 6 percent foresees some job cuts while another 6 percent is undecided about their hiring needs.

Among the few sectors where employment prospects for the quarter are brightest is mining. This sector is one of very few to see an upside to soaring oil and gas prices. Demand for coal surged to never-before levels and the mining industry responded by employing more workers each quarter to boost coal output. Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman and CEO of the global surveyor, said employer confidence in the sector was at a 25-year high. The organization has been running the survey for over 40 years now.

Sectors which saw little change in their hiring plans from first quarter included manufacturing, transportation, construction, services, retail, wholesale, utilities, real estate, insurance and finance. The education sector expects to hire more teaching and non-teaching professionals compared to its first quarter hiring plans.

According to the Survey, the April-June 2006 period would the ninth quarter in a row where over 20 percent of US employers have maintained their hiring levels.

Across the regions, hiring activity would be maintained with a few exceptions like the Northeast where it would slow down while in the West it would be strongest. Public Administration was among the few areas where employers said hiring levels would drop. But overall, the steady pace of hiring in the US would continue, Joerres said.

The scenario is largely similar in 23 other countries where Manpower conducts its labor survey. The labor market, especially in Asia and many European countries, had survived recent challenges like record fuel prices.

Japanese employers said the quarter would be even more active than the same quarter last year while employers in China felt it was wiser to downplay employment forecast for the second quarter.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted every quarter across the globe and serves as an economic indicator. The Survey covers more than 47,000 employers in 24 countries.