Demand For Employees Remains Strong But Variable By Business Sectors

Nearly 30 percent (27 percent) of employers polled by staffing firm Manpower, Inc. plan to hire more employees in the first quarter of 2001, a record-high level of first-quarter staffing intentions for the 16,000 public and private companies polled. Ten percent of employers plan staffing decreases, 58 percent anticipate no change and five percent are uncertain. Employer responses by business sector reveals that in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, hiring will fall slightly below levels of the year-ago quarter, particularly at durable goods manufacturers in the Midwest. Staffing needs for the first quarter there are expected to reach their lowest in seven years.