Retail jobs in Rhode Island looking up

Posted on September 15, 2012

The outlook regarding retail jobs in Rhode Island appears to be positive, according to a recent survey.

More than 18,000 employers were surveyed in a quarterly report by international staffing firm Manpower.
Manpower reports that the Net Employment Outlook for Quarter 4 2012 is +11%, unchanged from Quarter 3 2012 and slightly elevated from +8% during the same period last year.

Of employers polled, 17 percent anticipate an increase in staff levels in their Quarter 4 2012 hiring plans, while 9 percent expect a decrease in payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of +8%.

A summary of the findings include:

– Strongest Fourth Quarter Outlook in Five Years: The Quarter 4 2012 Net Employment Outlook of +11% is the strongest fourth quarter data collected since 2007.
– Three Years of Reserved Growth: According to seasonally adjusted data, hiring intentions have grown increasingly confident throughout the last three years with no declines in the Net Employment Outlook quarter-over-quarter. The continued climb in confidence marks three years of gradually improving hiring intentions, which were preceded by three quarters of pessimistic employment plans.
– Regaining Strength: The Net Employment Outlook is slowly regaining strength as it builds toward the strongest Outlook of the past decade. Before hitting its weakest mark of -2% in Quarter 3 2009, the Outlook reached its strongest point of the last decade at +21% in Quarter 3 2006. At +11%, the Quarter 4 2012 Outlook is halfway between the two.
– Positive Trend Continues Across U.S.: Hiring intentions continue to climb with employers in 49 out of 50 states reporting positive hiring intentions. Similarly, employers in 99 out of the 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas report positive hiring intentions to close out the year.

“Despite tumultuous global economies, election uncertainty, record heat waves, healthcare reform and other challenges, employers indicate that steady but cautious hiring progress will continue through the end of the year,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup president of the Americas. “Employers have shown remarkable consistency in their careful approach to staff growth. The data shows that companies are very cautious about adding staff, but still have the intention to increase their workforces into the fourth quarter.”