Employers plan to be cautious about hiring

12.09.08
By Sarah Beldo

If you are out of work and looking for new employment - or stuck in a job you are desperate to change - the current recession may seem like a prison sentence.

Jobs shed every week, employers cutting benefits, long lines at the unemployment office - when do we start to hear about hiring again?

Well, a new survey by Manpower finally gives some answers: most companies are still planning to wait and see before adding to their workforce.

Slightly more than two-thirds of the employers polled said they are going to hold their hiring steady during the first quarter of 2009.

"This may suggest that a majority of employers are carefully monitoring the uncertain economic environment prior to making any additional employment decisions," commented Jeffrey A. Joerres of Manpower.

Meanwhile, the number of bosses who plan to hire and fire are roughly equal, with 16 percent aiming to recruit and 13 percent setting out to reduce their staff levels.

Wondering where the new jobs will be added? Firms in the mining, business services, wholesale and retail trade, financial, education, health, leisure and government sectors may be the ones posting job ads, according to the survey findings.

The findings come after data from the Labor Department revealed that America shed 533,000 jobs last month, which raised concerns about how long we can expect to see such gloomy numbers in the headlines.

With the U.S. economic outlook undoubtedly mixed, those who are still employed may want to think about creating a financial safety net, in case of job loss.

This may involve ordering a copy of your credit report, to take stock of exactly what you owe to each creditor. In a financial crisis, it can be helpful to have all of this information to hand, especially if you need to negotiate different payment terms.

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Hiring may stay flat through the first quarter of 2009