The latest survey of employers by human-resource consulting firm Manpower might remind you of an old Neil Young lyric: “Good times are coming — but they’re sure coming slow.”
Of the New York City-area companies surveyed, 18 percent plan to hire more employees in the next three months, 8 percent plan to reduce staff, and 74 percent expect to maintain current levels. That’s the same 10 percent differential between hirers and firers as the previous quarter’s 22 percent, 12 percent and 63 percent, respectively.
Nationwide numbers are comparable.
That may sound pretty meh, but Manpower spokeswoman Susan Fontana accentuates the positive: “Compared to one year ago, when the Net Employment Outlook [hirers minus firers] was 1 percent, employers expect an improvement in staffing plans.”