Your view on the fourth quarter metro Milwaukee employment outlook from ManpowerGroup will depend largely on which time-period you use for comparison.
The quarterly survey found a net employment outlook for the fourth quarter of 21% in metro Milwaukee. That figure is the result of subtracting the percentage of respondents planning to cut employees, 7% from the number planning to grow their workforce, 28% in this case.
The outlook was up from 17% heading into the fourth quarter last year.
This year’s reading tied with 2013 for best outlook heading into the fourth quarter for metro Milwaukee in data going back to 2008. The quarter outlook has topped 20% just one other time in 2015.
The area’s outlook also remained in the top quarter among the 100 largest metro areas.
However, in the third quarter of this year, metro Milwaukee had an employment outlook of 33%. It was among the top five metro areas in the U.S. for employment outlook at that time.
The Milwaukee area industries with the best hiring outlook for the fourth quarter included durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, financial activities, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality.
Statewide, the employment outlook for the fourth quarter is 23% with 31% expecting to increase employment and 8% planning to decrease staffing. The outlook was 34% heading into the third quarter.
Madison has an outlook of 24% while the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago metros are at 13% and 8% respectively.
The U.S. employment outlook for the quarter is 20%, the strongest fourth quarter outlook since 2006.
