Jobless rates hold steady

The unemployment rate in February at 4.8% was down only barely from 4.9% in January.

Regionally, January saw few changes in unemployment rates. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia noted over-the-month rate increases, 16 states registered unemployment rate decreases and 7 states had no changes. In January, the Midwest recorded the highest unemployment rate among the regions at 5.2% with the West not far behind at 5.1%. The South had the lowest rate among regions at 4.5% and the Northeast reported a 4.8% unemployment rate.

Among the states, Michigan again reported the highest unemployment rate, 7.1%. Other states with high unemployment rates were Alaska at 6.5%, South Carolina at 6.1% and Mississippi at 6.0%. The District of Columbia also recorded a high jobless rate at 6.2%. Conversely, South Dakota posted the lowest unemployment rate at 2.6%.

Sixty percent of U.S. employers expect no change in their hiring pace over the next three months according to Manpower's latest Employment Outlook Survey. Among the 14,000 employers interviewed about their hiring plans for the second quarter, 26% expect to see growth in hiring activity, while 9% of employers expect to see a decrease in staff levels. Looking specifically at the wholesale and retail trade, 26% of employers expect to increase payrolls during the second quarter of 2008 and 11% expect to see a decline in hiring activity.

Regionally, compared with the January - March period, employers in the West are predicting a significant decline in the hiring pace for the second quarter of 2008. Twenty-eight percent of employers in this region are expected to increase headcount, while 12% expect hiring activity to decline leading to a 16% net employment outlook. When seasonally adjusted, this number drops to 14% compared to a seasonally adjusted 24% for the first quarter. Midwest employers are anticipating a moderate decrease, with 23% of employers surveyed expecting their workforce to increase and 9% expecting to trim personnel. A net employment outlook of 14% is expected for the Midwest for second quarter. However, when seasonally adjusted, this number drops to 10% whereas the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook for the first quarter was 15%. Meanwhile, employers in the Northeast and South are predicting little or no change in hiring activity from the previous quarter. Job seekers in the South are expected to have the most favorable hiring conditions in the April - June period. However, prospects in the Midwest are likely to find a weaker hiring market.