Fewer layoffs balance slower hiring

Employers in Westchester County plan both to hire fewer workers and lay off fewer in the third quarter this year, while significantly more jobs in retail and manufacturing are expected to open in other counties in the lower Hudson Valley, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

In Westchester, 23 percent of companies surveyed said they plan to hire more employees from July to September, compared with 43 percent in the second quarter. Seven percent expected to reduce their payrolls this summer, compared with 23 percent in the second quarter.

Another 30 percent of Westchester companies surveyed expected to maintain their current staff levels, while 40 percent were not certain of their hiring plans.

“Employers are also slightly less confident about hiring than they were a year ago when 20 percent of companies surveyed planned to add staff and none anticipated a reduction in payrolls,” said Karen Eidelman, branch manager at Manpower Inc. in White Plains.

In Westchester, third-quarter job prospects appear best in wholesale and retail trade, services and public administration. Job cuts are expected in durable- and nondurable-goods manufacturing, according to the Manpower spokesperson. Employers in construction and transportation and public utilities were unsure of their staffing plans. Hiring in finance, insurance, real estate and education is expected not to change.

The county”™s third-quarter expected hiring among employers is lower than the state average of 30 percent, while at 7 percent it equaled both the state and national average for expected job reductions.

In Orange County, 57 percent of employers surveyed said they planned to hire more workers this summer, while 7 percent expected layoffs. Third-quarter job prospects also rose in Ulster County, where half of the surveyed employers expected to hire and none anticipated layoffs.         

In Orange and Sullivan counties, the third-quarter hiring jump is historically common, said Greg Scotti, branch manager at Manpower Inc. in Middletown.

“Third and fourth quarter, there”™s always a spike,” he said. “You”™ll see that trend right through to Christmas. It”™s mostly manufacturing businesses that moved into the area.”

Scotti said wholesale distributors ramp up business in the third and fourth quarters. His Manpower office has received 40 new orders for workers at the Kohl”™s distribution warehouse on the border of  Orange and Sullivan counties, he said.

In Dutchess County, where 47 percent of surveyed employers planned to hire more workers,  “The majority of the increase is coming from retail,” said Robin Rabideau, branch manager at the Manpower office in Poughkeepsie. There was no expected change in employment levels in manufacturing, she said.

Nationally, the third-quarter hiring pace is expected to remain unchanged from the previous quarter, according to the Manpower survey. The stability follows three consecutive quarters of slight declines in employer confidence levels.

Of 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 29 percent expected to hire more workers this quarter, while 7 percent expected a drop in staff levels. A total of 58 percent expected no change in employment.