Employers in the Denver-Aurora metro area expect to hire at a “steady pace” in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released Tuesday.
From October through December, 16 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7 percent expect to reduce staff.
Another 73 percent expect to maintain their current workforce levels, and 4 percent are not certain about their hiring plans.
“Hiring activity is expected to slow during the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter,” said Manpower representative Sunny Ackerman. “(But) employers expect stronger employment prospects compared with one year ago.”
The report said for the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in non-durable-goods manufacturing; transportation and utilities; wholesale and retail trade; information, education and health services; and leisure, hospitality and other services.
Employers in professional and business services and in government are planning to reduce staff.
Hiring in construction, durable-goods manufacturing and financial activities is expected to remain unchanged.
Here’s the national outlook, based on interviews with 18,000 U.S. employers: 16 percent expect to add to their workforces, 11 percent expect a decline in their payrolls and 70 percent anticipate no staffing changes.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
