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U.S. employers report the strongest hiring intentions in 10 years as employers across the country look to add staff in the first quarter of 2018, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

Hiring momentum continues to strengthen, according to the more than 11,500 U.S. employers surveyed. The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook* for Q1 2018 is +19%. Job prospects in the Transportation & Utilities sector nationwide are the strongest reported since the survey started in the first quarter of 1982, while employers in Construction and the Durable Goods Manufacturing sectors forecast the strongest Outlooks in more than a decade. Nationwide, employers in all 13 industry sectors expect to add staff in Q1 2018. The top Outlooks by industry are: Leisure & Hospitality (+28%), Transportation & Utilities (+26%), Professional & Business Services (+23%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+23%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+19%) and Construction (+18%). This marks the 14th consecutive quarter with an Outlook of +15% or stronger. Nationwide hiring prospects are slightly stronger from last quarter and when compared to one year ago.

Locally, employers in Michigan expect to hire at a rapid pace during Q1 2018. From January to March, 23% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 3% expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 71% expect to maintain their current workforce levels and 3% are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a Net Employment Outlook of 20%.

To read the full Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the U.S., go to: manpowergroup.us/MEOS/ or to access the downloadable pdf version of the complete report, click here.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on March 13, 2018 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 2 2018. Sign up here to receive email notification when the survey is available each quarter.

Source: manpowergroup.us/MEOS/