Most employers in Iowa are optimistic about their hiring plans for the first three months of 2015. That’s according the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today (Tuesday). Manpower spokesperson Karen Miller says 73-percent of the Iowa companies surveyed anticipate maintaining current staffing levels between January and March, while 21-percent expect to add employees. That’s good for a “Net Employment Outlook” of 16-percent — doubling the results from the survey conducted for the first quarter of 2014.

“Last year at this time, we were only looking at an 8-percent Net Employment Outlook,” Miller said. The companies that take part in the Manpower survey have been holding steady on their hiring plans for quite some time now. “I think this is our third year running, we’ve got about 12 straight quarters of really solid hiring within the state of Iowa,” Miller said.

Iowa’s job market is basically on par with the nationwide outlook. Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed in the U.S., Manpower found 19-percent expect to add to their workforces, while 6-percent expect a decline in their payrolls between October and December. The Net Employment Outlook nationwide is 16-percent, the same as Iowa’s Q1 figure.

(Radio Iowa)