Demand for skilled talent continues to grow as employers across the U.S. are reporting positive hiring intentions nationwide (+19%) across all 50 states, according to the Q2 2019 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
This is the seventh consecutive year of double-digit hiring Outlooks in the U.S., according to the survey of more than 11,500 U.S. employers. The Q2 2019 employment Outlook comes after the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January jobs report marked 100 months of consecutive job growth in America with approximately 19M gains since October 2010.
Employers in all 13 industry sectors report optimistic hiring plans with the strongest Outlooks reported in Leisure & Hospitality, Transportation & Utilities (both +25%) and Wholesale & Retail Trade (+24%) as consumers dine out and demand immediate delivery from groceries to fast fashion. Employers in Professional & Business Services have a +23% employment Outlook fueled by growing demand for knowledge workers with the right balance of human strengths including communication and collaboration and technical capabilities from coding to data analytics.
“As U.S. employers continue to report double-digit hiring Outlooks, demand for talent is growing across the board from cyber security experts and data analysts to delivery drivers needed to keep up with 24/7 online retail,” said Becky Frankiewicz, President of ManpowerGroup North America. “It’s a skilled worker’s market. The best employers are reviewing the difference between what is desired in a role and what is required for a job. In the tech sector, we see a higher number of Java openings requiring computer science degrees than there are graduates. The most successful employers are re-evaluating the precise experience and education truly required to get the job done and as a result they’re attracting the best, and often more diverse, talent to the organization.”
View complete Q2 2019 survey results for the U.S: ManpowerGroup.US/MEOS.
| Region | Q2 2019 | Quarter-over-Quarter Variation | Year-over-Year Variation |
| West | 20% | 0% | +1% |
| Midwest | 19% | +1% | -1% |
| South | 20% | -1% | +2% |
| Northeast | 18% | -2% | +1% |
U.S. Hiring Plans by Industry Sectors, Regions and Metro Areas/States
- Nationwide, employers in all 13 industry sectors expect to add staff in Q2 2019. The strongest Outlooks are reported in Transportation & Utilities (+25%), Leisure & Hospitality (+25%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+24%) and Professional & Business Services (+23%) followed by Mining (+19%), Construction (+19%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+19%) and Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing (+17%).
- Both the South and the West have the highest regional Outlooks (+20%) in the country. Hiring prospects in the Midwest (+19%) are a close second with employers in the Northeast (+18%) not far behind. In the Midwest (+20%), Northeast (+18%) and West, the Outlook is up a percentage point (+20%) year-over-year and up two percentage points in the South.
- Employers in Indiana (+33%), Maine (+33%), Alaska (+28%), Colorado (+27%), Kansas (+26%), North Carolina (+26%) and Oregon (+26%) report the strongest Outlooks nationwide. Of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, the strongest job gains are expected in Greensboro, N.C. (+35%), Denver, Col. (+34%), Indianapolis, Ind. (+33%), Sacramento, Cal. (+32%), Albany, N.Y. (+31%), Deltona, Fla. (+31%) and Madison, Wis. (31%).
Complete results for the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey are available for download at ManpowerGroup.US/MEOS. The Q3 2019 survey will be released June 11, 2019.
*The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.