Hiring trends stay flat, agency says

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 28, 2001

By Bryan Corliss

Herald Writer

Snohomish County employment should remain flat through the year’s end, with only a slight increase in hiring around the holidays, according to a recently released survey by Manpower, the temporary services agency.

Nationwide, hiring during the fourth quarter will be near historically low levels, Manpower reported.

The report says 77 percent of the roughly three dozen Snohomish County businesses surveyed plan to keep their staff levels steady through the fourth quarter of 2001. Only 13 percent of those surveyed plan to hire more workers. Another 10 percent anticipate layoffs.

By comparison, last year, almost half the Snohomish County companies in the survey planned to add workers during the fourth quarter, and only 3 percent were contemplating layoffs.

The findings are "certainly in line with all the data I see," said Donna Thompson, the regional labor economist for the Washington Department of Employment Security in Everett.

"I don’t think it looks bad," she said. "I don’t see any big growth. It’s probably going to be flat."

The retailers in the survey gave mixed responses, the report said. That’s unusual — the fourth quarter typically is a time when retailers add employees, to help with increased holiday shopping.

There are only "a couple" of retailers among the Snohomish County businesses surveyed, said Michael Tamboer, a spokesman for Manpower’s Everett office. So it’s possible the results are skewed by the small size of the sample.

"We should see a slight bump in that area (retail)," during the fourth quarter, he said. Nationally, 35 percent of retailers plan to add staff, and 9 percent plan staff cuts, Manpower reported.

But at the same time, the survey does reflect "what our customers are telling us," Tamboer said. "A lot of companies are being really careful."

Snohomish County companies in the construction and service sectors were most likely to report they planned to add workers, the report said. Companies in durable goods manufacturing, like wholesale/retail trade, reported mixed projections.

The Snohomish County survey results do reflect results from the rest of the state and the nation, according to the report.

Statewide, 65 percent of businesses surveyed plan to keep their current staffing levels through the end of the year, according to the report. Another 24 percent will add staff, and 8 percent plan layoffs. (The remainder are undecided.)

Around the metro Seattle area, 69 percent of businesses plan to keep their current work force, while 23 percent plan to add staff and 4 percent plan layoffs.

Tacoma had the state’s gloomiest employment projections. Only 10 percent of companies there plan to add workers during the fourth quarter, while 17 percent plan layoffs. Tri-Cities’ was the most optimistic, with 30 percent of the companies surveyed planning to add workers while none were considering layoffs.

Nationwide, Manpower surveyed nearly 16,000 companies, which reported that 60 percent of those businesses plan to maintain current staffing through the end of the year, and 24 percent plan to hire more — a near-historic low, the report said.

Key segments in manufacturing are projecting year-end hiring at low levels not seen since the recession years of 1981 and 1991, Manpower reported. Wholesale/retail trade and education are the sectors most likely to add workers, the report said.

You can call Herald Writer Bryan Corliss at 425-339-3454

or send e-mail to corliss@heraldnet.com.