That’s the picture that’s starting to emerge, according to the more than 18,000 employers interviewed as part of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Year-Over-Year Increase: With a seasonally adjusted Outlook of +5%, employers indicate a moderate increase in hiring expectations compared to one year ago, when the seasonally adjusted Outlook was -2%.

Stability Continues: 73% of employers — a record-tying high — expect to keep staff levels stable, which is good news for the currently employed.

Industries Recovering: 12 of 13 industry sectors surveyed report positive Net Employment Outlooks, meaning that employers in most industry sectors plan to add staff during the second quarter. Increased hiring is expected in Leisure & Hospitality (+17%), Professional & Business Services (+15%), Mining (+11%), Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (+9%), Financial Activities (+9%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+8%), Information (+8%), Transportation & Utilities (+8%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+7%), Construction (+4%), Other Services (+4%) and Education & Health Services (+3%). The second quarter outlook is negative only for employers in Government (-1%).

Local Picture Improving: Among 201 surveyed Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 94% indicate a positive or neutral Net Employment Outlook, indicating that cautious optimism is becoming more widespread geographically.

Regional Picture Improving: A positive outlook is reported in all four of the U.S. regions surveyed. The Northeast has the strongest Outlook (+8%), followed by the South (+6%) and the West (+6%). The Midwest has the weakest Outlook (+4%).

Move to Alaska? What’s the absolute hottest area of the country in terms of hiring? Believe it or not, it’s Anchorage, Alaska (+22%).

About the Survey

Manpower releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the only forward-looking survey of its kind and is unparalleled in size, scope, longevity and area of focus.

The complete results — including a breakdown of the 201 MSAs — are available here. Click here for a snappy video with the highlights of the results.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 9:46 am and is filed under Hiring, Jobs, Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.