Kalamazoo-Portage area employers expect to hire at an unsteady pace during the first quarter of 2010, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From January to March, 9 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 18 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Becky Slager. Another 66 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels and 7 percent are not certain of their hiring plans.

Slager said, “Compared with the previous quarter when 12 percent of companies interviewed intended to add employees, and 19 percent planned to reduce staff levels, area hiring levels appear to be slightly weaker. Employers are much less optimistic about hiring activity as compared to one year ago, when 19 percent of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 15 percent expected to cut payrolls.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Wholesale & Retail Trade, Professional & Business Services and Leisure & Hospitality. Employers in Construction, Durable and Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Education & Health Services, Other Services and Government plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in Transportation & Utilities, Information and Financial Activities is expected to remain unchanged.

Of the more than 28,000 employers surveyed in the U.S., 12 percent expect to increase their staff levels during the January – March period, while 12 percent expect to reduce their payrolls. Seventy-three percent expect no change in hiring, and 3 percent are undecided about their first quarter 2010 hiring plans.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on March 9, 2010 to report hiring expectations for the second quarter 2010.

Source:  News release from Manpower