U.S. Job Market Looks Bleak to Year’s End

Americans looking for work won’t see an increase in the number of job openings through the year’s end as companies remain cautious about the economy’s recovery, a survey released today will show.

Twenty-four percent of the companies surveyed expected to hire more people in the fourth quarter, while 9% plan to cut workers, according to Manpower Inc.’s quarterly survey of 16,000 businesses.

The rest of the companies said they either expect to maintain their staffing levels or were uncertain about hiring activity in the fourth quarter.

Those numbers compare with 27% that expected to add more jobs and 8% that planned cuts in the third quarter.

When seasonally adjusted, the fourth-quarter’s employment prospects remain stable.

“For the balance of the year, job seekers are still going to be challenged,” said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief executive of Glendale-based Manpower, the nation’s biggest staffing company, which has conducted the survey for 26 years.

Past surveys have showed hiring prospects often plateau during an economic recovery, Joerres said.

“There’s still cautiousness within the companies,” he said. “Given the economy continues to improve, albeit slowly, you’ll see a bit of an acceleration after the pause.”

Employment levels will hold steady nationwide except in the West, which expects a slight decrease in hiring from the third quarter largely because the region is home to many struggling technology and telecommunications companies, Joerres said.

The finance, insurance and real estate sector is the only one surveyed that anticipates improved hiring compared with last quarter and a year ago, the survey found.

The manufacturing sector, hit hard by the recession, expects to maintain a consistent hiring level, which is a significant improvement over a year ago, Joerres said.