Measured Growth: Nearly One in Five U.S. Employers Plan to Hire in Q1 2017

Stable hiring outlooks over the past nine quarters point to steady economic progress and encouraging job prospects

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Dec 13, 2016, 07:00 ET

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. employers are cautiously optimistic about hiring plans going into Q1 2017, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, released today by ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN). The Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 1 2017 is +16%, a decline of two percentage points compared to the previous quarter, taking into account seasonal variations. Anticipated hiring in Quarter 1 2017 is relatively stable compared to one year ago. Employers in all 13 industry sectors are planning to increase their payrolls, with employers in Leisure & Hospitality continuing to report the strongest hiring intentions.

Measured Growth: Nearly One in Five U.S. Employers Plan to Hire in Q1 2017

View complete Q1 2017 survey results for the U.S.: www.manpowergroup.us/meos

Of the more than 11,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 19 percent anticipate increasing staff levels in Quarter 1 2017. This is a three percent decrease from Quarter 4 2016, and a one percent decrease from Quarter 1 2016. Six percent of employers expect workforce reductions and 73 percent expect no change in hiring plans. The final two percent of employers are undecided about their hiring intentions, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +16%.

Nationwide, employers in all 13 industry sectors expect payrolls to increase during Quarter 1 2017, with Leisure & Hospitality (+27%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+20%), Transportation & Utilities (+19%) and Professional & Business Services (+17%) employers reporting the strongest hiring intentions.

"In the wake of recent political events the majority of U.S. employers are now cautiously optimistic and intend to increase or keep their headcount stable for the next three months," said Kip Wright, Senior Vice President, Manpower North America. "This a positive sign for job seekers and the economy at the start of 2017. But not all skills are created equal. We continue to see significant differences between industries and employers demanding increasingly specific skills to fill positions. Ensuring people can prosper and businesses can compete depends on developing a U.S. workforce that is prepared for the jobs of today, tomorrow and the future."

Quarter	Increase Staff Levels	Decrease Staff Levels	Maintain Staff Levels	Don't Know	Net Employment Outlook *(deseasonalized)*
Q1 2017 (current)	19%	6%	73%	2%	16%
Q4 2016 (previous quarter)	22%	6%	69%	3%	18%
Q1 2016 (one year ago)	20%	6%	72%	2%	17%

U.S. Hiring Plans by Regions, Industry Sectors and Metro Areas/States

Net Employment Outlooks are relatively stable in three of the four U.S. regions surveyed when compared with Quarter 4 2016. Hiring prospects decrease slightly in the South when compared with Q4 2016. Compared to one year ago at this time, hiring plans are relatively stable in the Northeast and South, decrease slightly in the Midwest and are unchanged in the West.

Among the 50 states, employers in Oregon, Hawaii, Florida, Iowa, California and Oklahoma report the strongest Net Employment Outlooks, while Wyoming, Puerto Rico, North Dakota, West Virginia and Montana project the weakest Outlooks.

Among employers in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, the strongest job prospects are expected in:

Deltona, Fla.
Cape Coral, Fla.
Fresno, Calif.
Des Moines, Iowa
North Port, Fla.
San Antonio, Texas

The weakest outlooks are projected in:

Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Ill.
Youngstown, Ohio
New Orleans, La.
Dayton, Ohio
Akron, Ohio

Complete results for the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey are available for download at www.manpowergroup.us/meos. The next survey will be released on 14 March 2017 to report hiring expectations for Q2 2017. To receive email notifications when the survey is available each quarter, visit http://meos-press.manpowergroup.us

*The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

About ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN) is the world's workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solutions for nearly 70 years. We connect more than 600,000 people to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries every day. Through our ManpowerGroup family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – we help more than 400,000 clients in 80 countries and territories address their critical talent needs, providing comprehensive solutions to resource, manage and develop talent. In 2016, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the sixth consecutive year and one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com.

SOURCE ManpowerGroup