ManpowerGroup: hiring in Minnesota may pick up slightly in early 2012

ManpowerGroup is expecting employers in the Twin Cities and around Minnesota to pick up their hiring a bit in the first three months of 2012, according to survey results released today.

The national staffing firm's report focuses on a metric called the "net employment outlook," which is the percentage of employers surveyed who plan to hire minus the percentage planning to cut jobs. Manpower puts the "net employment outlook" for the first quarter of next year at +7 percent both for the Twin Cities area and for Minnesota as a whole. Last year's projections ranged from +4 to +5 percent.

Manpower's survey reflects a slight bump in companies' intentions to hire compared to their intentions at this time last year. But it also projects a whole lot more of the same tepid growth. Seventy one percent of Minnesota employers polled intend to maintain their current staffing levels in Q1 2012.

Statewide, the company says job prospects appear best in sectors including manufacturing of durable goods, wholesale/retail trade, transportation & utilities, information, professional & business services, education & health services, leisure & hospitality and government.

The firm says employers in non-durable manufacturing, which includes food companies, plan to reduce staffing levels.

Manpower's Minnesota survey typically involves about 400 respondents statewide and about 220 in the metro area.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.