Good Job Market Seen In First Quarter In Detroit Area, West Michigan

MILWAUKEE (WWJ) -- The temporary help firm Manpower Inc. says employers in the Detroit area plan to hire at a steady pace in the first qurater of 2014.

From January to March, 18 percent of companies plan to add staff, while 11 percent plan layoffs. Another 70 percent expects to maintain current workforce levels and 1 percent aren't certain of their plans.

That yields a net employment outlook of plus 7 percent.

That's down a bit from last year, when the net employment outlook was 11 percent, and down from a quarter earlier, when the outlook was 12 percent.

The survey covered employers in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the six counties of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne.

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality and other services. Employers in construction and government plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in wholesale and retail trade and information is expected to remain unchanged.

In the Grand Rapids-Wyoming MSA, which includes Barry, Ionia, Kent, and Newaygo counties, 19 percent of companies plan to hire more employees, while 7 percent expect to reduce staff. Another 72 percent expect to maintain their current work force levels, and 2 percent are not certain of their plans.

That yields a net employment outlook of plus 12 percent. That's up from the first quarter of 2013, when the index stood at plus 11 percent, but down from the fourth quarter, when the index was plus 16 percent.

For the coming quarter in West Michigan, job prospects appear best in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, professional and business services, education and health services, and leisure and hospitality. Employers in construction plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in transportation and utilities, information, financial activities, other services and government is expected to remain unchanged.

For the state of Michigan as a whole, 18 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 9 percent expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 71 percent to maintain their current staff levels and 2 percent are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a net employment outlook of plus 9 percent.

That's down from a year ago, when the outlook was plus 11 percent, and from the fourth quarter, when the outlook was plus 13 percent.

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality and other services, Employers in construction and government plan to reduce staffing levels, while hiring in information is expected to remain unchanged.

Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed in the United States, 17 percent expect to add to their workforces, and 7 percent expect a decline in their payrolls during the first quarter. Seventy-three percent of employers anticipate making no change to staff levels, and the remaining 3 percent of employers are undecided about their hiring plans. When seasonal variations are removed from the data, the net employment outlook is plus 13 percent, unchanged from the fourth quarter.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on March 11 to report hiring expectations for April-June quarter of 2014.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers' intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforces 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.