U.S. Labor Market Remains Optimistic as One in Four Employers Plan to Hire in Q3 2017

- Organizations show resilience in the face of shifting policies and political uncertainty

- Positive hiring levels expected in all U.S. regions and industry sectors

- Twelfth consecutive quarter with a Net Employment Outlook of +15% or stronger

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Jun 13, 2017, 07:07 ET

MILWAUKEE, June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE: MAN) – U.S. employers expect the hiring pace to remain positive in Q3 2017 with one in four employers (24 percent) planning to add staff between July and September, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released today. Of the 11,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 70 percent expect to keep their workforce intact through the next three months and just four percent expect workforce reductions.

U.S. employers expect the hiring pace to remain positive in Q3 2017 with one in four employers (24 percent) planning to add staff between July and September, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released today.

Taking seasonal variations into account, the Net Employment Outlook* for Quarter 3 2017 is +17%, which marks the 12th consecutive quarter with an Outlook of +15% or stronger. Nationwide hiring prospects improve by 2 percentage points when compared to one year ago.

View complete Q3 2017 survey results for the U.S.: www.manpowergroup.us/meos

"Employers across the country are optimistic but don't want to get ahead of themselves. In most sectors, employers report relatively stable hiring plans with some upticks – most notably in durable goods manufacturing, where there are the strongest hiring intentions in more than nine years," said Michael Stull, Senior Vice President, Manpower North America. "Technological disruption is rapidly changing skills needs, especially in manufacturing as the marketplace transitions from typical labor to more advanced roles. To keep up, we're seeing employers increasingly invest in training and development programs so people can learn while they earn. We're focused on building programs to help workers get the skills they need for tomorrow while staying employable today."

Quarter	Increase Staff Levels	Decrease Staff Levels	Maintain Staff Levels	Don't Know	Net Employment Outlook *(deseasonalized)*
Q3 2017 (current)	24%	4%	70%	2%	17%
Q2 2017 (previous quarter)	22%	3%	73%	2%	17%
Q3 2016 (one year ago)	23%	5%	71%	1%	15%

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

Employers in all four regions in the U.S. have a positive outlook for their Q3 2017 hiring plans. When compared with the previous quarter, hiring intentions remain relatively stable in both the Midwest and the Northeast, while employers report no change in both the South and the West. Compared with this time one year ago, hiring prospects are slightly stronger in the Midwest and remain relatively stable in the South and West. Employers in the Northeast report no change year-over-year.
Nationwide, employers in all 13 industry sectors expect to add staff in Q3 2017. Industries reporting the strongest second quarter hiring intentions are: Leisure & Hospitality (+25%), Transportation & Utilities (+22%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+21%), Mining (+18%) and Professional & Business Services (+18%).
For the coming quarter, employers in Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa and Rhode Island report the strongest Net Employment Outlooks. Of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, the strongest job prospects are expected in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Raleigh, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Colorado Springs, Colo. and Des Moines, Iowa.

Complete results for the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey are available for download at www.manpowergroup.us/meos. The Q4 2017 survey will be released September 12, 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), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for over 400,000 clients and connect 3+ million people to meaningful, sustainable work across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across 80 countries and territories and has done so for nearly 70 years. In 2017, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the seventh 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 is powering the future of work: www.manpowergroup.com

SOURCE ManpowerGroup