Job forecast: Hiring shifts into neutral

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A majority of American employers plan to show some restraint when it comes to hiring this spring, according to a survey published Tuesday.

Fifty-nine percent of 14,000 employers polled in the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said they anticipate no change in the pace of their hiring during the second quarter of 2007.

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"A look at the last three quarters of survey data suggests that employers are shifting into neutral when it comes to hiring," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. (Charts), a leading staffing firm.

"Companies expect to coast through the next three months without much growth in the way of staff."

Twenty-eight percent of those companies told Manpower they expected to increase the pace of payroll growth in the coming months, while 7 percent said they expected to reduce their hiring plans. The remaining 6 percent said they were uncertain.

The survey comes just after the most recent reading on the U.S. labor market. U.S. job growth slowed to its weakest in 2 years in February, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The Manpower survey also revealed that employers in construction, mining, trade and services were less confident about hiring than last quarter. At the same time, public utilities, finance, insurance and real estate sectors said they anticipated improved hiring trends in the coming months.

"A look at the shifts within the industry sectors brings context to the hiring pause expected in the second quarter," Jonas Prising, president of Manpower North America, said in prepared remarks.

Regionally, employers in the Northeast and the South said they expected to continue their current hiring trends, while companies in the Midwest and West region of the country expected slightly weaker hiring.

The global labor market appeared to be a mixed picture, according to Manpower, as employers in 14 of 26 countries and territories expect to increase the pace of hiring from the first quarter and last year.

Those countries with the most upbeat hiring expectations in the coming months included Singapore, Peru, Argentina, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Taiwan and Hong Kong were among those countries that anticipated a weaker job market in the coming quarter.

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