THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270298
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 42 lines
Hampton Roads companies expect their staffing levels to remain fairly stable this fall, according to the latest quarterly Manpower Inc. survey released Monday.
Most employers in this region don't foresee any changes in their personnel for October, November and December, said Manpower, the world's largest temporary help firm.
Retailers and other industries normally increase staffing levels in time for the holiday shopping season, but Manpower interpreted a stronger hiring outlook overall from the survey results.
``This year we see a clear narrowing of that seasonal decline on a broad scale, both geographically and by industry, which does indicate a stronger outlook,'' Mitchell S. Fromstein, Manpower's chief executive, said Monday.
The survey was conducted in two Hampton Roads cities, Norfolk and Newport News.
About 65 percent of Norfolk-based employers expect their staff sizes to stay the same, and 23 percent expect them to increase. Only 6 percent plan to reduce their staffs.
In Newport News, 57 percent of companies expect personnel to stay the same, about 33 percent expect them to increase and 10 percent plan staff cuts.
Those numbers are representative of most Virginia responses: 23 percent of Virginia companies plan staff increases, whereas 69 percent expect to maintain their current size.
``It sounds like (the survey) is in line with most other forecasts for the last half of '96,'' said William F. Mezger, a senior economist at the Virginia Employment Commission.
The nation's job outlook, however, is brighter this fall than a year ago, led by hiring in the wholesale and retail sectors.
A fourth of the 16,000 companies surveyed nationwide by Manpower plan to increase their work force in the final quarter of the year, 9 percent plan to slim their staffs and 66 percent plan no changes or were undecided.
In the same period last year, 25 percent planned a hiring increase and 10 percent planned reductions, which is down from the outlook earlier this year.
KEYWORDS: SURVEY HIRING by CNB