Survey says: Looking for a job? You’re in luck

It could be a happy new year for anyone looking for a Dayton-area job.

Hiring in early 2018 should happen at a promising clip, according to the newest quarterly hiring survey from the Manpower of Dayton employment franchise.

Among employers surveyed, 17 percent plan to hire more employees from January through March, according to survey results released Tuesday.

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Five percent plan to cut payrolls, while 71 percent of employers expect to maintain current staff levels and seven percent indicate they are not sure of their plans.

That yields what Manpower calls a “net employment outlook” of 12 percent — the percentage of employers planning to add workers minus the percentage planning to shrink their workforces.

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“Employers in the Dayton (metro statistical area) anticipate a steady hiring pace compared to Q4 2017 when the net employment outlook was 14 percent,” said Tom Maher, chief executive of Manpower of Dayton. “At this time last year, employers expected less hiring activity when the outlook was 5 percent.”

In coming weeks, the best job prospects appear to be in construction, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, education and health, and leisure and hospitality, Manpower said.

However, employers in professional and business services plan to cut staff, while hiring in durable goods manufacturing, non-durable goods manufacturing, information, financial activities, other services and government is expected to remain unchanged, the survey found.

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Nationally, of more than 11,500 employers surveyed, 21 percent expect to add to their workforces, and five percent expect to cut in the first quarter next year.

Seventy-one percent of employers expect no change, and the remaining 3 percent are undecided.

So nationally, the net hiring outlook is 19 percent, compared to 17 percent in the last quarter of 2017.

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