Hiring outlook for final quarter improves from a year ago

Colorado Springs area employers are more optimistic about the job market in the final quarter of the year than they were a year ago, but not as upbeat as they were three months ago, according to a survey by temporary staffing giant Manpower.

Eighteen percent of local employers Manpower interviewed plan to add staff, while 14 percent are anticipating cuts during the September-to-December quarter. That outlook is stronger than a year ago, when 14 percent planned more hiring but 19 percent expected to reduce staff. Three months ago, 19 percent anticipated staff expansion, while just 10 percent were expecting cutbacks.

The latest survey found local job prospects were best in manufacturing, retailing, education, health, services and government; reductions were most likely in construction and professional and business services.

The local outlook is more optimistic than Denver, where just 10 percent of employers plan to add staff and 11 percent anticipated staff reductions; the rest of the state, where 14 percent of employers are forecasting staff expansions and 13 percent see personnel cuts ahead; or the rest of the nation, where 15 percent of employers expect additional hiring and 11 percent expect staff reductions.

"Clearly there are signs of a softening labor market, but when we consider what we are hearing from our clients and by looking at our own business, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic," Manpower CEO Jeff Joerres said about the national outlook. "The hiring intentions for the fourth quarter are not enough to break through the labor market sound barrier that we're all eagerly anticipating, as 71 percent of employers indicate no change in hiring."

The company surveys 18,000 U.S. employers, but does not disclose how many are included in the local survey.