The metropolitan Milwaukee area has the fourth-best employment outlook in the nation, according to the latest ManpowerGroup survey of employers.
Employers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis metropolitan statistical area expect to hire at a vigorous pace during the second quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Among employers surveyed in the Milwaukee area, 31 percent plan to hire more employees from April through June. That number is offset by the 3 percent that plan to reduce payrolls, while 62 percent of employers expect to maintain current staff levels and 4 percent indicate they are not sure of their plans. That yields a Net Employment Outlook of 28 percent.
“Survey results show employers are more confident about hiring plans compared to Quarter 1 when the Net Employment Outlook was 24 percent,” said Manpower spokesman Jonathan Means. “Last year at this time, the hiring forecast was weaker when the Outlook was 22 percent.”
For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Construction, Manufacturing-Durable, Manufacturing-NonDurable, Transportation and Utilities, Wholesale/Retail Trade, Information, Financial Activities, Professional and Business Services, Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality and Government.
Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed in the United States, 22 percent expect to add to their workforces, and 4 percent expect a decline in their payrolls during Quarter 2 2015. Seventy-two percent of employers anticipate making no change to staff levels, and the remaining 2 percent of employers are undecided about their hiring plans. When seasonal variations are removed from the data, the Net Employment Outlook is +16 percent, equal to the first quarter outlook.
“For some time, U.S. employers have been experiencing incremental increases in demand for goods and services despite ongoing uncertainty in global economies,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chief executive officer. “Although growth remains modest, employers believe it is sustainable, and that confidence is reflected in their hiring plans. We’re seeing the rising tide of the economy extend broadly across geographies and sectors, which is positively impacting the labor market.”
Employers in all 50 states have positive hiring outlooks. Those most optimistic include employers in Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon. Employers in West Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Jersey and Louisiana report the weakest Outlooks.
