Weak US housing and trouble in the credit markets are, for now, having limited impact on job plans

Weak US housing and trouble in the credit markets are, for now, having limited impact on job plans, according to a survey released yesterday.

Employers remain confident about hiring for the fourth quarter, Manpower Inc said. Its poll of 14,000 employers found the net employment outlook - the difference between those adding jobs and those cutting them - was unchanged for the fourth quarter from the third.

The seasonally adjusted level of 18 compares with a reading of 20 a year ago, Manpower reported.

The Manpower report comes after the government last week reported a surprise drop in US non-farm payrolls in August, which raised fears that the US economy was shifting to a much lower pace of growth or could tip into recession.

Most industries reported steady demand for workers, but employers in mining, transportation and utilities have lower confidence about hiring compared to the previous quarter.

When compared with a year ago, hiring expectations are weaker in six of the ten industry sectors surveyed by Manpower.

Expectations are unchanged in three sectors and higher in one: education and public administration.

A slowdown in the US housing market is being felt among finance companies, especially in the northeast, and in construction, but companies without direct exposure to housing remain reasonably confident about the health of their business, Manpower CEO Jeff Joerres said.

‘They say, ‘I’m going to be in the marketplace but I’m going to hire very judiciously. I will only add what I need to add’,’ Mr Joerres said. ‘That means there’s not as much to drop out if there are some more difficult times.’

Job prospects are again strongest in the west and weakest in the north-east, Manpower said, where there is particular softness in transportation, utilities, education and mining.

A separate, international poll of 52,000 employers, also conducted by Manpower, found positive hiring prospects in all 27 countries and territories it surveyed.

Employers in Australia, Germany, Japan and India, among others, reported their best optimism in the survey’s history.

By contrast, those in Italy, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are less optimistic.

Job projections in China were lower both from the previous quarter and from a year ago, in part reflecting concern ahead of new labour laws coming into effect at the start of 2008.

‘They’ve been growing so quickly for so long that they’re going to be cautious,’ Mr Joerres said.



Source: Reuters (Business Times 12 Sept 07)