Confidence grows over Boston jobs

Posted on March 26, 2012

A new survey from Manpower posits that the level of confidence about Boston jobs is growing.

According to the seasonally adjusted survey results, the Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 2 2012 is +10%, up from +8% during the same period last year and from the +9% Outlook during Quarter 1 2012.

Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed, 18 percent anticipate an increase in staff levels in their Quarter 2 2012 hiring plans, while 6 percent expect a decrease in payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of +12%. When seasonally adjusted, the Net Employment Outlook becomes +10%. Seventy-two percent of employers expect no change in their hiring plans. The final 4 percent of employers are undecided about their hiring intentions.

For Quarter 2 2012, employers have a positive Outlook in all of the 13 industry sectors included in the survey: Leisure & Hospitality (+26%), Mining (+20%), Professional & Business Services (+17%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+15%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+14%), Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (+13%), Transportation & Utilities (+13%), Financial Activities (+11%), Information (+10%), Construction (+9%), Other Services (+8%), Education & Health Services (+7%), and Government (+5%).

When the industry sector data is compared quarter over quarter, employers in the Construction, Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, and Leisure & Hospitality sectors anticipate a considerable hiring increase, while employers in the Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade, and Professional & Business Services sectors anticipate a moderate hiring increase.