Manpower forecasts increased hiring
Net 3Q outlook of 21 percent for area
Russell Jones, branch manager for Manpower’s offices in Memphis and Southaven, oversees an area stretching from Tipton County to Tupelo and Marion, Arkansas, for the Milwaukeebased staffing company.
Manpower’s national brand is known for its quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The latest survey, looking forward to the third quarter of this year, found that 26 percent of employers in the Memphis area plan to hire employees and 5 percent plan to trim payrolls, for a net employment outlook of 21 percent. That’s up from 17 percent for the second quarter, which ends this month.
Another highlight of the survey is that the Nashville metro area had the second-best outlook in the nation, a net 33 percent. Only the Rochester, New York, area, with 35 percent, had a brighter outlook.
Jones, 38, paused at Manpower’s Southaven office for an interview, and here are excerpts, edited for brevity:
How would you describe this job market?
It definitely is improving. I think if you look at this time last year, we saw some uptick in the jobs that were becoming available. This year we’ve seen a bigger increase, which is exciting. We actually are servicing some new businesses that have come into the area. And overall, our main niche primarily
focuses on the manufacturing, logistics field and administrative-clerical field, and those are the jobs that we’re starting to see a lot more improvement on. Also construction.
What are the major obstacles you see to improving the employment picture even more?
I think overall, the development of our skilled labor force. Some of our harder jobs to fill require more of the welders, technicians, machine operators.
What’s the one area or skill that you would say students absolutely need to have when they leave high school?
I think the commitment to attendance is the biggest area that I would continue to stress. Oftentimes we develop different policies, programs specific to the client to reward performance with attendance, and of course we all know the negative impact it has if a person doesn’t show up. If you’re supposed to be at work at 8 o’clock, on time for me is 15 minutes early.
What are the factors putting Nashville near the top of the national hiring outlook?
We see their business growth. You look at ... the durable (goods) plants, from an automotive standpoint. The hospitality-leisure market in Nashville is a lot better then Memphis as well. State government, when we look at the numbers on the survey, government is one of the areas that we anticipated growth in. But you know, I’m excited about our area, especially in North Mississippi, as well.