Salt Lake-area employers are expressing modest optimism about the prospect of adding jobs during the fourth quarter, according to a new report from staffing company Manpower Inc.

The company's Employment Outlook Survey, released today, found that 39 percent of Utah companies polled said they planned to add to their payrolls during the final three months of 2006. Fifty-eight percent of companies polled said they planned to keep current staffing levels, while 2 percent expected to make cutbacks, according to Manpower.

Salt Lake employers expressed slightly more optimism, with 40 percent of those surveyed saying they plan to add workers. Three percent said they will trim staff levels, while 57 percent expect no changes.

Those results are a slight improvement over responses in the third quarter, according to Manpower's Utah spokesman Robert Katz, "when 37 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add staff, and 3 percent planned to reduce headcount."

Moreover, Katz said in a statement, Utah employers "have significantly more positive hiring intentions than they did a year ago, when 27 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 13 percent intended to cut back."

Utah's results top Manpower's broader national survey of 14,000 employers, which indicated that 28 percent of employers surveyed expect to add workers, while 8 percent think they will trim their payrolls during the quarter. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they likely will not change current staffing levels.

Job prospects in the local mining, construction, non-durable goods manufacturing, transportation/utilities and trade and services sectors look best, Manpower said. Respondents in the durable goods manufacturing industry reported mixed intentions, while employers surveyed from the finance/insurance/real estate, education and public administration sectors said they likely would keep current staff levels.

Orem employers were the most confident, with 47 percent of respondents expecting to hire more workers during the fourth quarter and 53 percent expecting to hold constant. None of the businesses surveyed said they expected work force reductions, Manpower reported.

Ogden was less giddy, with 64 percent of employers surveyed expecting to hold current levels and 30 percent expecting to hire, the report stated. Three percent of employers surveyed said they expect staff reductions.

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