“(Milwaukee-AP) — For the first time in five years a survey is forecasting a pickup in hiring during the winter months.
Twenty percent of employers tell the staffing firm Manpower that they expect to add workers during the first three months of 2004. Most anticipate no change, while only 13 percent intend to cut jobs. Manpower says if you take seasonal factors out of the picture, the results represent an improvement over the previous quarter — the first time that’s happened since the late 1990s.
Manpower chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Joerres (JEHR’-ehs) says companies are gradually showing more confidence about hiring, and while it’s still not robust, it is steady and improving. He says employers are being careful not to overhire, for fear that they may have to lay people off later.”
AND HERE’S THE HEADLINE ON THE SAME AP WIRE STORY FROM THE (UNBIASED) FT. WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE:
“Survey: Hiring forecast bleak”