Local Market Releases

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Kevin Blake
(804) 527-3418
or
Michael Doyle
(919) 755-5892

Soft Job Market Expected for
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA

September 8, 2009 – Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News area employers expect to hire at a slow pace during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From October to December, 12% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 14% expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 69% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 5% are not certain of their hiring plans.

“The hiring activity is expected to be lighter than the previous quarter when 18% of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 17% expected to cut payrolls,” said Manpower spokesperson Kevin Blake.

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Professional & Business Services, Leisure & Hospitality and Government. Employers in Construction, Nondurable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, Information, Financial Activities, Education & Health Services and Other Services plan to reduce staffing levels.

Of the more than 28,000 employers surveyed in the U.S., 12% expect to increase their staff levels during the October – December period, while 14% expect to reduce their payrolls. Sixty-nine percent expect no change in hiring, and 5% are undecided about their Quarter 4 2009 hiring plans.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on December 8, 2009 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 1 2010.

About the Survey
Employment services company Manpower Inc. releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the only forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in size, scope, longevity and area of focus. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey’s United States results are based on interviews with more than 28,000 employers located within the top 200 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the U.S. and one MSA in Puerto Rico. The mix of industries within the survey follows the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Supersectors and is structured to be representative of the U.S. economy. The complete results of the national Manpower Employment Outlook Survey can be found in the Press Room of our Web site at us.manpower.com/meos. There you will also find the survey results from the 201 Metropolitan Statistical Areas that are surveyed. Questions can be directed to meos@na.manpower.com.

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©Manpower Inc. 2009 All rights reserved.

	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (13 KB)