Manpower Survey - Not Bad is Good

I continue to believe that we are seeing a nascent job recovery market in the United States and, in fact, globally (with some notable exceptions - PIIGS).  While I do not see this as robust - in any way - at this juncture, the bleeding needs to stop before the patient can be stabilized and this is where I believe we are.

Should this be the case, it will be evidence that we are in the midst of a recovery and give some credence to the risk appetite that we have witnessed.

From Manpower:

Results for the first quarter 2011 global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today byManpower Inc. suggest a more positive start to the new year for the global labor market. Data reveals improved hiring expectations from 12 months ago in 28 of 39 countries and territories, including the G7 countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, where hiring plans are stable or improved from both the fourth quarter of 2010 and this time last year. Despite continued mixed results across Europe, German employers are reporting their strongest hiring plans since early 2008. Meanwhile, hiring intentions among U.S. employers remain modest but signal the most optimistic first-quarter outlook in three years. Job prospects continue to be robust across the Asia Pacific region with Chinese and Indian employers reporting the most optimistic hiring intentions globally.

"The bright spot in Europe continues to be Germany, where the unemployment rate is at its lowest in 18 years and engineers and financial professionals continue to be in high demand. In fact, the hiring forecast from Finance and Business Services employers is the strongest first-quarter outlook since we began surveying the German market in 2003," said Joerres. "In contrast, employer hiring confidence in the Greek and Spanish markets continues to erode. However, data for Italy shows improved hiring expectations for the third consecutive quarter resulting in the first positive forecast from Italian employers in more than two years." 

 "Seasonally adjusted data for the United States indicates the most optimistic first-quarter hiring sentiment in three years; yet 73 percent of employers indicate they will keep staff levels unchanged," said Joerres. "So while we're seeing positive signals in the data, only time will tell if we've reached the inflection point in the U.S. labor market recovery.