Hiring still sluggish - survey

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers are still jittery about hiring but the pace of job loss is stabilizing, according to a staffing firm survey released Tuesday.

Sixty-seven percent of employers said they plan to hold staff levels steady for the third quarter of 2009, unchanged from the last two quarters, according to the Manpower's quarterly employment outlook survey.

"Employer attitudes about hiring remain essentially unchanged compared to the previous quarter," Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower, said in a statement.

"While the numbers may not be as optimistic as we would like, it is positive to see no further deterioration," he said.

Of the 28,000 employers surveyed in the United States, only 15% anticipated hiring more employees during the third quarter, down from 26% last year, the survey said. Another 13% expected a reduction in their payrolls, up from 10% last year. Five percent said they were undecided about their July to September hiring plans.

The net employment outlook, or difference between employers who plan to add jobs and those who expect to cut them, was 2%, down from 16% in the year-ago period.

"The data shows continued hesitancy among employers," said Jonas Prising, president of the Americas for Manpower Inc. "They are treading slowly and watching with guarded optimism, hoping a few quarters of stability will be the precursor to the recovery."

Of the industries that plan on hiring, leisure & hospitality had the most promising hiring outlook, followed by wholesale & retail trade, professional & business services, financial activities and construction.

Alternatively, employers in mining had the weakest employment outlook in the upcoming quarter, while durable goods manufacturing, transportation & utilities, information, government and education & health services all anticipated a decline in hiring as well.

Employers in nondurable goods manufacturing plan to keep hiring levels relatively stable for the third quarter, according to the survey.

A government report Friday showed that 2.9 million jobs have been lost so far this year and the unemployment rate now stands at 9.4%, its highest level in 26 years.

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