Tag Archives: Hiring

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey

Mild Job Market Expected for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA

March 8, 2011 - Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA employers expect to hire at a conservative pace during Quarter 2 2011, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Among survey participants, the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA employment outlook is one of the weakest in the nation.

From April to June, 12% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 11% expects to cut staff. Another 76% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 1% are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a Net Employment Outlook* of 1%.

“Employers are similarly confident about hiring plans for the second quarter of 2011 compared to Quarter 1 when the Net Employment Outlook was 2%,” said Manpower spokesperson Karen Miller. “Employers foresee weaker staffing plans compared with one year ago, when the Net Employment Outlook was 8%.

Summary of Results for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA

 

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, Information, Professional & Business Services, Leisure & Hospitality and Other Services. Employers in Construction, Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Education & Health Services and Government plan to reduce staffing levels, while Financial Activities employers report no change in hiring sentiment.

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Results for the United  States 

Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed in the United States, 16% anticipate an increase in staff levels in their Quarter 2 2011 hiring plans, while 6% expect a decrease in payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of +10%. When seasonally adjusted, the Net Employment Outlook becomes +8%. Seventy-four percent of employers expect no change in their hiring plans. The remaining 4% of employers indicate they are undecided about their hiring intentions.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on June 14, 2011 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 3 2011.

 About the Survey

Manpower Inc., an innovative workforce solutions company, releases the global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey’s United States results are based on interviews with 18,000 employers located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, which includes the largest 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas based on number of business establishments. The mix of industries within the survey follows the North American Industry Classification System Supersectors and is structured to be representative of the U.S. economy.

The complete results of the national Manpower Employment Outlook Survey can be found in the Press Room of our website at http://press.manpower.com. There you will also find the results for the 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas surveyed, the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Questions can be directed to press@na.manpower.com. 

Manpower Releases 2Q 2010 Employment Outlook Survey

Today, Manpower Inc. released the results of its 2nd Quarter 2010 Employment Outlook Survey.

For the Des Moines-West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area, hiring intentions are slightly better than they were in the first quarter of the year, and significantly stronger than they were at this time last year, as 17% of employers surveyed plan to add staff, while 9% plan to decrease staff levels.  No change in staffing is anticipated by 72%, and 2% of employers are unsure what direction their hiring activity will take.  In addition to the 2% increase in the net percentage over 1st Quarter, I also find it interesting that the overall percentage of employers who don’t know what they’re going to do seems to be decreasing.  Perhaps that’s at least indicative of a greater level of confidence in forecasting by hiring managers.

For the upcoming quarter, job prospects appear best in Durable Goods Manufacturing, Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, Information, Financial Activities, Professional & Business Services and Leisure & Hospitality.

Employers in Wholesale & Retail Trade, Education & Health Services and Government plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in Construction and Other Services is expected to remain unchanged.
Of the 18,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 16% expect to increase their staff levels during the second quarter, while 8% expect to reduce their payrolls. Seventy-three percent expect no change in hiring, and 3% are undecided about their Quarter 2 2010 hiring plans.  To see the full U.S. report – click here…
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on June 8, 2010 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 3 2010.

Summary of Results for Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA
Increase
Staff Levels
Decrease
Staff Levels
Maintain
Staff Levels
Don’t Know
Net
Employment
Outlook
Q2 2010
(current)
17% 9% 72% 2% 8%
Q1 2010
(previous quarter)
13% 7% 75% 5% 6%
Q2 2009
(one year ago)
16% 15% 66% 3% 1%
*The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring
activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

CareerCast Employment Index Improves – November 2009

Although there was a slight increase (+5.9 points) in the November 2009 CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, job seekers might be in for a long wait until hiring improves enough for unemployment to drop back into the single digits.

Released today, The CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, which measures U.S. managerial recruitment activity, found that the number of online job postings in November 2009 rose to 73.7, which is 3.4 points below the level of last November, but slightly higher than the Index last month (67.8).

Some parts of the country are faring better than others during the current job shortage, with Washington D.C. having the greatest hiring activity (135 points) per capita as compared to Riverside (13). This month shows San Francisco (70) having twice as many jobs per capita as Los Angeles (35). Atlanta (+14 to 62), Pittsburgh (+14 to 57) and Boston (+14 to 107) showed the most growth since last month.

While all regions experienced gains in November, the Northeast was the only region of the country to show a slight gain from 2008. And while Chicago had the biggest drop (-3), both major Florida metro areas — Miami (28) and Tampa (27) — are lower than almost all other metropolitan areas in the United States.

Although there was a slight increase (+5.9 points) in the November 2009 CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, job seekers might be in for a long wait until hiring improves enough for unemployment to drop back into the single digits.

Some parts of the country are faring better than others during the current job shortage, with Washington D.C. having the greatest hiring activity (135 points) per capita as compared to Riverside (13). This month shows San Francisco (70) having twice as many jobs per capita as Los Angeles (35). Atlanta (+14 to 62), Pittsburgh (+14 to 57) and Boston (+14 to 107) showed the most growth since last month.

While all regions experienced gains in November, the Northeast was the only region of the country to show a slight gain from 2008. And while Chicago had the biggest drop (-3), both major Florida metro areas — Miami (28) and Tampa (27) — are lower than almost all other metropolitan areas in the United States.

Poll: A Majority Hire based on ‘Chemistry’

A majority of human resources professionals (54%) make their final decision to hire a person based on “chemistry,” according to a poll released Tuesday by the Society for Human Resource Management.

It found that 15% of human resources professionals said chemistry accounts for 75% of the final decision to hire, and 39% said chemistry amounts to 50% of the final decision to hire.

The survey also found that 30% of human resources professionals made a decision not to hire within 15 minutes of meeting the job candidate. And 28% made a decision not to hire within five minutes.

Respondents to the survey included 498 randomly selected members of the Society for Human Resource Management who are recruiting professionals.

Economic Conditions Snapshot, March 2009: McKinsey Global Survey Results

graph_with_arrow

A gloomy economic stasis has taken hold, responses to a McKinsey Quarterly survey—in the field from March 10, 2009, through March 16, 2009—indicate. The percentage of the executives who say economic conditions have gotten worse at the national level hasn’t increased, but fewer than a third expect an upturn this year.

Executives overall are confident with how their companies are managing the crisis, though 53 percent expect profits to drop in the first half of 2009, and the number expecting to shed workers has jumped eight percentage points in six weeks. Companies that executives describe as well managed are likelier than others to be reducing both operating costs and capital spending—and perhaps not weakening operations a great deal, because these companies are also likelier than others to be improving productivity. Overall, the results show that most companies are not actively seeking more cash.

This survey also solicited executives’ views on some topics of intense public debate. Respondents think “bad banks” are a good idea, disagree on whether CEOs are paid too much, and overwhelmingly say the public trusts business less than it did before the crisis—and lay the blame at the doors of financial firms.

Click here to read more about this report.

Top Web Skills Needed by Companies – April 2009

elance-online-work-index-april-20093

Elance, released its April edition of the ”Elance Online Work Index,” ranking the top skills businesses are seeking on the Web.

Based on data from more than 100,000 jobs posted on Elance over recent months, the Elance Online Work Index reveals that IT and marketing skills continue to be in high demand with businesses in search of specific expertise in open source technologies, computer programming, design, online marketing, social networking and writing. Top skills in demand include PHP, MySQL, HTML Graphic Design, Writing, AJAX, Adobe Illustrator, WordPress, Photoshop, Flash and Blogs. New data also show surging demand for social media skills and skills that deliver world-class web and application user experiences.

Notable hiring trends surfacing in April’s Elance Online Work Index include:

  • Open Source on the Rise: The overall trend of businesses migrating to open source technology solutions is stronger than ever with PHP (#1) programming now topping the Index followed closely by MySQL (#2). Demand grows for a variety of other open source skills including Joomla (#18), Drupal (#48 – up 10 spots), osCommerce (#49 – up 20 spots), Ruby on Rails (#73 – up 27 spots), and Linux (#74 – up 13 spots).
  • User Experience Paramount: With more pressure than ever for companies to compete based on a world-class user experience, hiring trends show accelerating interest in technologies that deliver and enable great customer experiences, such as HTML (#3 – up 3 spots), Flash (#10 – up 2 spots), AJAX (#12 – up 14 spots), JAVA (#16 – up 13 spots), and – the biggest mover on the list – Actionscript (#56 – up 43 spots).
  • Social Media Rising: Social media continues to gain mainstream traction with companies that want to connect with customers, drive traffic, and become part of the conversation with customers, partners and prospects. Demand for professionals skilled in developing for Facebook, Twitter and blogging applications is growing. WordPress (#15) and Blogs (#19) crack the top 20, while Social Networking (#38) moves up 6 spots, Facebook (#61) is up 10 spots and Twitter (#93) makes its debut on the Index.

February 2009 Employment News: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

good-bad-ugly1

The good news:

A report released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that planned layoffs at U.S. companies decreased by 23% from its peak in January. The report indicated that layoffs could remain particularly high in the automotive, manufacturing and financial sectors. Employers announced plans to cut 186,350 jobs in February, down from 241,749 in January.

The decline in job cuts last month offers some hope that January was the peak and we will now see layoffs begin to fall or at least stabilize,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, remarked in a statement.

…and the bad news:

The ADP Employment Report showed that 697,000 nonfarm jobs were lost in February as the U.S. recession continues, a wider decline than the 630,000 drop that economists had expected. It was the greatest number of monthly job losses on record.

…and the ugly tired analogy from yours truly:

So depending on your disposition this is good or bad news. If your glass is half empty then none of this is good news in any way. If your glass is half full, then planned February job cuts down 23% will have you dancing in the street to some degree. Or at the very least, a little Mamboing on your way to the kitchen.

Job Openings and Labor Turnover: December 2008

Well the December numbers just came out from the BLS for new hires and turnover for December 2008. As expected the news is fairly dismal. While I understand no one wants to hear any bad news, especially those looking for work it is at least good to be aware of the overall situation. Something to always keep in mind when looking at these types of numbers and charts is that not every area in America feels the recession in the same way. One spot of good news though is that the blue line which represents new hires is heading in the right direction. Hopefully that will continue (but keep in mind that this is for December).

What we see is that on the last business day of December, there were 2.7 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 1.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The job openings rate in December was the lowest point so far in the 8-year-old series. The hires rate was essentially unchanged in December at 2.9 percent and remains low. The total separations rate jumped to 3.7 percent, due to rising layoffs and discharges.

jan06-dec08-hire-turnover

The red line is seperations/discharges and the blue line is new hires. You can click on the picture to make it bigger.

You’re not Getting the Job – 25 Reasons Why

interview

You’re not getting the job — 25 reasons why

By Anthony Balderrama
When you’re job hunting, you can go mad if you think about the amount of factors beyond your control that affect your chances of getting hired.

The economy, your location, industry trends — even the hiring manager’s mood — can influence whether or not you get a job.

Still, as nice as it would be to blame your lack of offers on external factors, you can’t forget that common denominator in your job hunt — from the résumé to the interview — is you.

Here are 25 ways you might be unknowingly sabotaging your own job search:

The first steps

1. Not keeping track of your accomplishments

When you’re happy with your job, it’s easy to forget about possible future job hunts. You never know when you’ll end up looking for new work, and if you don’t keep a running list of awards, promotions and accomplishments, you might not remember them when it’s time to update your résumé.

2. Leaving on a bad note

As much fun as it is to fantasize about telling off a bad boss, don’t actually do it. Leaving a trail of angry bosses or co-workers will come back to haunt you when you need references.

3. Not networking

If you’re silent about your job search, your friends, family and colleagues won’t think of you when they hear about job opportunities.

4. Only using the Internet

Online job boards are fantastic resources, but you need to do some footwork if you want to increase your chances of finding a job. Contact companies whom you’d like to work for, even if there are no job listings. Not all companies advertise openings online.

5. Only searching for the perfect job

Yes, your job search should be focused. After all, applying to every job posting that comes your way is a good way to waste time but not an effective way to find a job you want. However, if you approach your job hunt unwilling to accept anything less than the precise job title, pay, vacation time and hours you want, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

To read the other 20 reasons click here.

HT: CNN.com

Should You Be Asking Your Applicants About their Social Presence?

social-networking

President-elect Obama is requiring prospective aides to disclose, in a 9-page questionnaire, ALL social interactions and presence including blog posts, comments and “any Web sites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity”.  This also means disclosing Facebook profiles, MySpace pages and even posts on Match.com.

“…that requirement would force applicants to disclose information about Facebook and MySpace pages, profiles posted on dating Web sites, and even what was posted on Web sites like CNET and YouTube that allow readers to append comments.”

Should companies be forcing their applicants to do the same?

HT: Human Capitalist