Manpower: Help Not Wanted
Link to the Forbes Article
Help Not Wanted
Carl Gutierrez, 06.10.08, 12:15 PM ET
Just picture storefronts through out the country with signs in their windows reading: HELP NOT WANTED.
Manpower's quarterly survey has found that U.S. employment expectations has fallen to its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2003. In other words, it looks like employers are wary about hiring over the next three quarters.
That's a bad sign. Employers need people to satisfy the needs of their business, and what the report is saying is that their business won't be able to satisfy those needs.
Manpower, a staffing services company, reported its seasonally adjusted net employment outlook fell for the third consecutive quarter, to a level of 12, compared with 14 last quarter and 18 a year ago. The index measures the difference between employers saying they plan to add jobs and those planning to cut them.
Manpower assess 10 sectors, and found only mining holds a stable outlook for job seekers. The other nine have weakened.
"It is saying (the outlook is) softer, with some real trouble spots in construction and finance and real estate, and the rest is holding its own, but tenuous," Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said. The index's gradual decline contrasts with the past. It fell sharply ahead of recessions in 1991 and 2001, but is not sending "recessionary signals" at the moment, Joerres said.
The outlook for the construction, finance, insurance and real estate sectors is the weakest since the 1991 recession. Hiring intentions in education, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade are also at multi-year lows when adjusted for seasonal factors.
Manpower's report comes one day after the Conference Board gave its own report on employment. On Monday the Conference Board said it found the U.S. labor market declined in May to the weakest level in three and a half years and is likely to deteriorate further.
The Conference Board said its Employment Trends Index fell in May to 113.7 from 114.3 in April, for the lowest since 113.5 in December 2004. The index is down 6% since July 2007, it said. The index's all-time peak was 126.5 in July 2000.
On Friday the U.S. labor department reported that the unemployment rate for May jumped to a worse-than-expected 5.5%, for the biggest month-to-month increase since 1986. (See: "Jobbed Out")
Help Not Wanted
Carl Gutierrez, 06.10.08, 12:15 PM ET
Just picture storefronts through out the country with signs in their windows reading: HELP NOT WANTED.
Manpower's quarterly survey has found that U.S. employment expectations has fallen to its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2003. In other words, it looks like employers are wary about hiring over the next three quarters.
That's a bad sign. Employers need people to satisfy the needs of their business, and what the report is saying is that their business won't be able to satisfy those needs.
Manpower, a staffing services company, reported its seasonally adjusted net employment outlook fell for the third consecutive quarter, to a level of 12, compared with 14 last quarter and 18 a year ago. The index measures the difference between employers saying they plan to add jobs and those planning to cut them.
Manpower assess 10 sectors, and found only mining holds a stable outlook for job seekers. The other nine have weakened.
"It is saying (the outlook is) softer, with some real trouble spots in construction and finance and real estate, and the rest is holding its own, but tenuous," Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said. The index's gradual decline contrasts with the past. It fell sharply ahead of recessions in 1991 and 2001, but is not sending "recessionary signals" at the moment, Joerres said.
The outlook for the construction, finance, insurance and real estate sectors is the weakest since the 1991 recession. Hiring intentions in education, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade are also at multi-year lows when adjusted for seasonal factors.
Manpower's report comes one day after the Conference Board gave its own report on employment. On Monday the Conference Board said it found the U.S. labor market declined in May to the weakest level in three and a half years and is likely to deteriorate further.
The Conference Board said its Employment Trends Index fell in May to 113.7 from 114.3 in April, for the lowest since 113.5 in December 2004. The index is down 6% since July 2007, it said. The index's all-time peak was 126.5 in July 2000.
On Friday the U.S. labor department reported that the unemployment rate for May jumped to a worse-than-expected 5.5%, for the biggest month-to-month increase since 1986. (See: "Jobbed Out")
1 Comment
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Comment by Rich Milgram on June 13, 2008 at 11:20am - It is interesting that Manpower’s Job Index is showing a gradual decline in the job market right now in contrast to the recessions in 1991 and 2001, when the job index fell sharply. Beyond.com has also recognized a similar decline in the job market through our Career Trends and Industry Outlook Reports. The industries with the largest percentage decrease from Q4 2007 to Q1 2008, were Management & Business (-1.47%), Travel/Hospitality & Restaurant (-1.01%), and Accounting & Finance (-0.55%). However, there are also many industries that are still thriving despite recessionary concerns, such as Healthcare & Medical (+1.86%), Information Technology (+1.05%), and Clerical & Administrative (+0.57%).
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