S. Florida job strategy promising

South Florida’s job market for the first quarter of 2018 looks “promising” but weaker than a year ago. The state as a whole, however, is one of the strongest job markets in the nation, according to a new Manpower staffing survey released Tuesday.

Among employers surveyed, 19 percent said they plan to hire more employees from January through March, 69 percent expect to keep the current staffing levels, and 7 percent said they’d reduce staffing. Five percent said they were unsure of their hiring plans.

That yields a net employment outlook of 12 percent, Manpower says, which is a weaker pace than a year ago, when the net outlook was 24 percent. In the first quarter of 2017, 28 percent of employers said they’d increase staffing, 64 percent maintain current staffing levels, and 4 percent reduce staffing.

Employers in Florida as a whole expect to hire at a brisk pace during the first quarter, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook.

Florida’s outlook for employment is second best in the nation, after Georgia. In the state, Cape Coral has the highest staffing demand, according to Manpower.

U.S. employers report the strongest hiring intentions in 10 years as employers across the country, according to Manpower, which surveyed more than 11,500 companies.

From January to March, 25 percent of the Florida companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 3 percent expect to reduce their payrolls. Some 69 percent expect to maintain their current workforce levels and 3 percent are not certain of their hiring plans.

That yields a net employment outlook of 22 percent, which compares with 21 a year ago, Manpower said. In the first quarter of last year, 24 percent of employers said they would increase staffing, 71 percent said they’d maintain staffing levels, and 3 percent said they’d reduce staffing.

“The hiring pace is expected to remain stable compared to one year ago,” said ManpowerGroup spokesperson Judy Leppla.