Firms' hiring outlook hits lowest point in Manpower survey's history

[Roland99]

Source: MarketWatch

The job market may get worse before it gets better, according to the latest Manpower survey of U.S. employers' hiring plans. For the first time since the survey started in 1962, the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook -- the number of firms hiring minus those firing workers -- turned negative.

A net -1% of firms expect to hire in the April through June period, down from 10% in the first quarter and 15% for the second quarter a year ago, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Manpower's quarterly survey. The previous low point was in 1982, when a net 1% of firms planned to hire in the third quarter. See related story on the jobless rate hitting 8.1% in February.

Manpower's survey of 31,800 U.S. companies measures the percentage of firms planning to hire minus those intending layoffs. Manpower doesn't measure the number of jobs. The survey's margin of error is +/- 0.55%.

The survey's seasonally adjusted figure smoothes out monthly fluctuations, such as retailers' holiday hiring and the construction industry's weather-related trends. Without that seasonal adjustment, the survey found a net 1% of firms intend to hire in the second quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter and 17% in the second quarter a year ago. The previous low point for the non-seasonally-adjusted employment outlook was -1% in 1983's first quarter.

Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Hiring-plans-sink-lowest-level/story.aspx?guid=%7B35DBA231%2D11CD%2D4C4E%2DBDF2%2D13F106F9E7A9%7D

[Supersedeas]

1. so is this Obama or Clinton's fault -- eight years of shit, but Dems to blame for everything

or so says the GOP Controlled Corp. Media Establishment