Survey predicts boom in job market

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

From staff reports

Huntsville Times

Manpower finds 55% of companies expect to add workers in 2nd quarter

The Huntsville-area job market is expected to boom in the second quarter, with gains that would rank among the top cities in the U.S., according to the Manpower Inc. employment outlook survey.

The survey found that 55 percent of the companies it surveyed expect to add jobs in the period between April and June, 45 percent expect to continue current payrolls and none of the employers surveyed expect to cut jobs in the quarter.

Huntsville's job market ranked sixth nationally based on the findings.

The top five U.S. cities expected to see job increases this spring include, in order: San Rafael, Calif.; Fort Myers/Naples Fla.; Temple, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah and Brownsville, Texas.

The company said 14,000 employers were surveyed across the United States. Manpower does not provide specifics related to local survey methodology, but a company spokeswoman said the survey margin for error is below 1 percent.

Cheron Pitts-White, branch manager for Manpower's Huntsville office, said her office is seeing more orders for workers and more companies looking for additional employees for both temporary and permanent positions.

The Madison County unemployment rate of 2.8 percent for January, was the second lowest in the state trailing only Shelby County.

The survey found gains expected in most sectors, including construction, manufacturing, transportation and public utilities, wholesale/retail trade, education services and public administration. Hiring for finance, insurance and real estate is expected to be unchanged, the survey found.

In Alabama, Huntsville's net increase of 55 percent of surveyed employers expecting to add jobs ranked first.

Rankings for other parts of Alabama: Birmingham, 30 percent of employers will increase jobs, 10 percent will decrease; Decatur, 37 percent increase, 10 percent decrease; Florence, 59 percent increase, 7 percent decrease; Mobile, 39 percent increase, no decrease; Montgomery, 34 percent increase, 7 percent decrease.



Survey predicts boom in job market Tuesday, March 13, 2007 From staff reports Huntsville Times Manpower finds 55% of companies expect to add workers in 2nd quarter The Huntsville-area job market is expected to boom in the second quarter, with gains that would rank among the top cities in the U.S., according to the Manpower Inc. employment outlook survey. The survey found that 55 percent of the companies it surveyed expect to add jobs in the period between April and June, 45 percent expect to continue current payrolls and none of the employers surveyed expect to cut jobs in the quarter. Huntsville's job market ranked sixth nationally based on the findings. The top five U.S. cities expected to see job increases this spring include, in order: San Rafael, Calif.; Fort Myers/Naples Fla.; Temple, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah and Brownsville, Texas. The company said 14,000 employers were surveyed across the United States. Manpower does not provide specifics related to local survey methodology, but a company spokeswoman said the survey margin for error is below 1 percent. Cheron Pitts-White, branch manager for Manpower's Huntsville office, said her office is seeing more orders for workers and more companies looking for additional employees for both temporary and permanent positions. The Madison County unemployment rate of 2.8 percent for January, was the second lowest in the state trailing only Shelby County. The survey found gains expected in most sectors, including construction, manufacturing, transportation and public utilities, wholesale/retail trade, education services and public administration. Hiring for finance, insurance and real estate is expected to be unchanged, the survey found. In Alabama, Huntsville's net increase of 55 percent of surveyed employers expecting to add jobs ranked first. Rankings for other parts of Alabama: Birmingham, 30 percent of employers will increase jobs, 10 percent will decrease; Decatur, 37 percent increase, 10 percent decrease; Florence, 59 percent increase, 7 percent decrease; Mobile, 39 percent increase, no decrease; Montgomery, 34 percent increase, 7 percent decrease. © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.