CNN Article, March 15, 2005
http://money.cnn.com Manpower, Inc. is one of America's largest staffing firms and is located in Milwaukee, WI. Each quarter, they conduct a survey of over 16,000 employers that gauges expected labor needs for the ensuing three-month period. Their report for the 2nd quarter of 2005 claimed that employers on average are planning to hire more workers at a similar rate to that of the first quarter.
Over 30% of the firms interviewed claimed that they were going to increase hiring over the next three months, while only 7% forecasted a hiring decrease. After adjusting for seasonal labor demand shifts, the percentage of companies expecting hiring increases was similar to the percentages in the last few quarters.
The survey covered ten industry sectors, and each sector showed positive employment gains after being adjusted by seasonal labor demand shifts. Although this survey can not correlate to empirical labor indicators, such as the weekly "jobless claims" report, it is yet another indicator that the labor market is becoming healthier over time.
