The Manpower survey indicates that Utah's best job prospects for the quarter will be in mining, construction, durable and non-durable goods manufacturing, transportation and public utilities and wholesale and retail trade. Public administration employers had mixed hiring intentions, while hiring in finance and insurance, real estate, education and services is expected to remain unchanged.

The national hiring-boost figure of 31 percent was on par with last quarter and marks the 10th straight quarter that more than 20 percent of the companies surveyed said they plan to add staff. The expected staffing level increase was 30 percent for the second quarter of this year.

The trend shows the economy continues to be healthy and will not see any major shifts until employers see more noticeable changes in demand for their products and services, said Jeff Joerres, chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Manpower.

He noted the economy was balancing as some industries, such as construction and mining, are seeing employment slowdowns while others, such as the insurance and banking sectors, are rising.

"We're going to start to feel some angst and energy at the individual level, but from an economy perspective and job creation, it looks like we're still on track for some pretty good news," Joerres said.

The hiring outlook in the West continued to outpace other regions with 36 percent of companies planning to increase staffing and 8 percent planning to decrease. In the South, 32 percent of companies plan to increase staffing levels while 5 percent plan to decrease.

Job prospects improved the most in the Northeast, with 30 percent of companies saying they plan to increase staff and 6 percent saying they plan to decrease. Last quarter, 27 percent of the region's companies reported a rise in staffing levels and 9 percent said they planned to decrease.

In the Midwest, 28 percent of companies expect to increase staff levels, up from 27 percent last quarter. Five percent of companies plan to decrease hiring, the same as last quarter.

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com