Employment outlook growing more stable

06.09.09
By Sarah Beldo

The U.S. may not be firmly on the road to recovery yet, but the job market is not likely to worsen, the latest report from an employment company suggests.

According to the Global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, slightly more than two-thirds (67 percent) of bosses say they are planning to keep their staffing levels at the same point during the third quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, 15 percent say they intend to hire additional workers, 13 percent anticipate cutting positions and 5 percent are undecided.

"The data shows continued hesitancy among employers," commented Jonas Prising, president of the Americas for Manpower. "They are treading slowly and watching with guarded optimism, hoping a few quarters of stability will be the precursor to the recovery."

These findings are consistent with the latest figures from the Department of Labor, which indicated that although the unemployment rate continues to rise, the pace of job losses seems to be stabilizing. Fewer jobs were lost during May than many analysts expected.

Over the past several months, the outlook for the job market has had ripple effects across the whole economy, from the rate at which Americans pay back credit card debt to how they plan their spending.

A recent report from TransUnion revealed that credit card delinquency rates increased by 11 percent in the first quarter of the year. Delinquency is defined as being at least three months late with a credit card payment.

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Fifteen percent of U.S. companies plan to hire in the next three months.