The final three months of the year should be good ones for job-hunters in Iowa, according to the latest quarterly report from Manpower Incorporated. Manpower’s Mike Lynch says October, November and December promise to be at least above average for Iowans seeking employment.
Lynch says the survey shows hiring intentions aren’t as strong as last quarter or last year but they’re “still pretty positive.” Of employers surveyed, 23-percent plan to increase staff while seven-percent plan to reduce staff.
While the employment agency surveys employers in communities across Iowa, Lynch says they’re finding virtually all of them are making similar plans for hiring. Lynch says a few pockets in the state might have hiring activity that’s higher than elsewhere, like Muscatine and Ottumwa, but most of Iowa is in the same boat. He says many students are heading back to school, freeing up a host of part-time and temporary positions in a variety of businesses across Iowa.
Lynch says it doesn’t necessarily increase the amount of hiring going on but it decreases the applicant pool. Typically, retail will ramp up and construction will ramp down in the year’s final quarter and he says the numbers are consistent with last year’s which are better than the few previous years.