The latest Manpower Survey of employers statewide predicts a stellar summer quarter for every major city in Iowa except Des Moines. Manpower spokesman Mike Lynch says trouble in state government might be to blame for the numbers being down in Iowa’s largest city, but he adds, the rest of the state is looking exceptionally good. Hiring prospects are very good statewide, particularly in Iowa City, the Quad Cities, Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. Lynch says the agency’s survey covers employers’ plans for hiring new workers, firing current workers or maintaining their workforces at the current level. The survey covers July, August and September, a time period when there’s a lot of hiring going on with vacations, construction and other summer activities. Lynch says some of the new hirings will be temporary positions, but not the majority of them.Overall, 31-percent of Iowa employers surveyed said they plan to increase staff during the upcoming quarter, six-percent plan to cut staff while 62-percent plan no change. That leaves a 25-percent net increase in jobs.
