Among local employers, 15 percent planned to add workers in the third quarter, compared with 26 percent at this time last year.
Jason Shupp, left, with Lehigh Valley Carpenters Union Local 600, gives materials to Ciara Soak, of Bethlehem, at an unemployment fair this April at IBEW Local 375 in Allentown. Staffing agency Manpower Inc. says only 15 percent of local employers surveyed plan to hire in the next three months. Manpower Inc. reports that 15 percent of Lehigh Valley-area employers plan to hire in the coming quarter, down from 26 percent last year at this time.
The local estimate, which still outnumbers the amount who expect to cut jobs, is also below the national average of 21 percent who say they plan to add workers in the July-September quarter.
Manpower spokeswoman Becky Sokolowski said the results reflect a continued skittishness about the economic recovery.
Recent market turmoil stemming from the debt crisis in Europe is adding to the uncertainty, Sokolowski said.
“Last year you said: ‘How strong is this recovery going to be?’” Sokolowski said. “Now we’re saying: ‘Is there even a recovery?’”Manpower, a Milwaukee-based temporary staffing agency, polls employers quarterly in regions across the country on their hiring plans.
The survey, released today, shows the vast majority of local employers, 80 percent, plan no change in staffing while 1 percent are unsure. Four percent are calling for cuts in the third quarter, which begins July 1.
Sokolowski added that the mild winter may have pushed up seasonal hiring earlier than usual, slowing the typical spring bounce for certain industries.
Some firms are hiring, Sokolowski said, such as manufacturing and warehouse and distribution. But she said many hires are intended to offset turnover, rather than expansion.
“There is not a lot of growth in business,” Sokolowski said. “They are hiring for need.”The results come at a time of heightened concern about weakness of the economic recovery.
The federal government reported June 1 that the U.S. economy added only 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.2 percent.
The Lehigh Valley unemployment rate is 8.1 percent. The prerecession norm was about 5 percent.
The local outlook is weaker than the national Manpower survey, which shows 21 percent planning to add workers in the next quarter compared with 6 percent expecting cuts.
Hiring projections are still positive in the big picture, albeit not robustly.
Among those planning staffing changes in the coming quarter, employers with intentions to hire outnumber those who plan to cut by 11 percentage points, or 15 to 4 percent.
Most employers typically say they plan no changes each quarter.
Three months ago, 16 percent called for expansion while 3 percent predicted cutbacks. One year ago, that margin was 26 percent positive and 10 percent negative.
Manpower’s Lehigh Valley area includes Warren County. The average region polls about 135 employers, according to Manpower.
Surveys do not distinguish between part-time and full-time jobs and do not estimate wages.