Employment outlook in southeast Wisconsin "best in the nation"

MILWAUKEE -- A new Manpower survey shows the employment outlook in southeast Wisconsin is the "best in the nation;" and companies are more likely to hire in Milwaukee than anywhere else in the country.

Manpower asked over 18,000 U.S. companies whether they plan to add jobs over the next three months and Milwaukee was found to have the most optimistic employers.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, from July to September, 31% of the companies in southeast Wisconsin interviewed said they plan to hire more employees, while just 2% expect to reduce staff.

Another 62% expect to maintain their current workforce levels, and 5% are not certain of their hiring plans.

"The hiring growth we're seeing is slow and steady and in fact, it has been for the last three years, so it's going in the right direction," Manpower Vice President Melanie Holmes said.

Nationwide, 21% of businesses expect to grow, while 6% plan on eliminating jobs.

One of Milwaukee's optimistic employers is "A Branovan Company" or ABC, specializing in marketing.

"Our outlook for new hires is very good. We've been much leaner than we've ever been in the business and now we're looking to rehire," owner David Branovan said.

Branovan says he sees first-hand how confident employers are, based on how much they'll spend on marketing.

Manpower says traditionally, the hiring expectations are highest in the third quarter. That's mainly because businesses in the category of "leisure and hospitality" do much of their hiring during the summer.

Job prospects right now appear best in Construction, Durable Goods Manufacturing, Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation & Utilities, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Information, Financial Activities, Professional & Business Services, Education & Health Services, Leisure & Hospitality and Government. Hiring in Other Services is expected to remain unchanged.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on September 11, 2012 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 4, 2012.

"We'd like to see the numbers as strong as they are this quarter every quarter so we continue in the right direction," Holmes said.

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