Iowa businesses indicate they’re ready to hire

About one in five Iowa business owners anticipates expanding their workforce this fall, according to the latest hiring survey from Manpower, Incorporated. Michael Lynch of the Des Moines Manpower office says the statewide average showed 20-percent of the businesses want to hire more people. Cedar Rapids led the survey with 33-percent of businesses saying they were looking to hire more workers — followed by Ottumwa at 30-percent and the Quad Cities at 27-percent.The survey only gauges the desire to hire more people, and doesn’t take into account the availability of workers. Lynch says there’s no way to track how many people are eventually hired, but he says it’s a good gauge.He says the poll has been a very accurate indicator of the intentions of businesses. Scott Ball, spokesman for the Mason City Manpower office, says hiring numbers are going up as we’re starting to see an economic rebound.Ball says we are finally starting to see an economic recovery in Iowa and with the Christmas holiday approaching, staffs will be bolstered.Nationwide, 24-percent of employers surveyed said they intend to hire more staff as the year draws to a close, and Ball says that always means positive numbers for Iowa. He says hiring trends from the east and west coasts usually arrive a few months later in the Hawkeye State.Statewide, on average, the survey found about 20-percent of businesses expected an increase in their staff numbers between October and December, about 69-percent expected no change, and roughly ten-percent predicted a decrease.