Burlington Job Market Expected to be Among Strongest in Nation
December 9, 2008 - Burlington-South Burlington area employers expect to hire at a favorable pace during the first quarter of 2009, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Among survey participants, the Burlington-South Burlington area employment outlook is the fourth best in the nation.
"From January to March, 25% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7% expect to reduce their payrolls," according to Manpower spokesperson Amanda Niklaus. "Another 62% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 6% are not certain of their hiring plans."
For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Durable and Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Transportation & Utilities, Financial Activities, Professional & Business Services, Education & Health Services, Leisure & Hospitality and Government. Employers in Construction and Information plan to reduce staffing levels.
Effective with the Quarter 1 2009 results, adjustments has been made in the 46-year-old Manpower Employment Outlook Survey's methodology to make the survey more representative of the U.S. economy and inclusive of new and emerging industries. These adjustments include a move to Metropolitan Statistical Areas for geographic reporting boundaries and to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Supersectors for the industry breakdowns. Because of these revisions, direct comparisons cannot be made between Quarter 1 2009 local data and previous local survey results. Data may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
Of the 31,800 employers surveyed in the U.S., 16% expect to increase their staff levels during the January - March period, while 13% expect to reduce their payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of 3%. Sixty-seven percent expect no change in hiring and 5% are undecided about their Quarter 1 2009 hiring plans.
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on March 10, 2009 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 2 2009.
About the Survey
Employment services company Manpower Inc. releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers' intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the only forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in size, scope, longevity and area of focus. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey's United States results are based on interviews with 31,800 employers located within the top 200 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the U.S. and one MSA in Puerto Rico. The mix of U.S. industries within the survey follows the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Supersectors and is structured to be representative of the U.S. economy.
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