Hiring prospects all time low

So the layoffs may be easing, but in the end that will only be part of the problem, employment prospects are still dropping, so its true, less people are losing their jobs, but companies continue to hang their ‘No work here’ signs on the door.

Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey states that hiring plans for the upcoming fourth quarter dropped to their lowest level in the history since it started in 1962.

A net -3% of employers said they’ll hire in the fourth quarter, down from -2% in the third quarter, on a seasonally adjusted basis…. Before this year, the survey’s previous low point was a net 1% hiring outlook for the third quarter of 1982…

A year ago, a seasonally adjusted net 9% of firms said they would hire in the fourth quarter. … Manpower doesn’t measure the number of jobs. The survey’s margin of error is +/- 0.49%.

And the only sector with a net positive number of establishments seeking to hire is…..financial services! How nice to be an arm of the government, when ironically, the government sector is in negative territory, hiring-wise:

For each industry, here are the figures for the net employment outlook for the fourth quarter, not seasonally adjusted, in order of most negative outlook first.

Construction, -10%, down from 2% for the third quarter

Mining, -9%, flat from -9%

Transportation and utilities, -9%, down from -3%

Government, -8%, down from -4%

Manufacturing, durable goods, -8%, down from -6%

Information, -5%, down from -4%

Manufacturing, nondurable goods, -3%, down from 0%

Other services, -1%, down from 0%

Financial activities, 1%, down from 2%