Survey finds employers planning hires

Spokane County employers will be hiring at a robust rate in the second quarter if the results of a national survey hold up.

The study, by Manpower Inc., polls 14,000 employers in 460 job markets about their hiring intentions.

In Spokane County, “53 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while none expect to reduce their payrolls” from April to June, Tom Droz of Manpower Inc. in Spokane wrote in a news release.

At that pace, Spokane County ranks as the eighth most-favorable hiring market in the country, wrote Droz.

Randy Barcus, chief economist for Avista Corp., said the prediction comes as no surprise.

There are lots of unfilled positions across nearly all Spokane job sectors, so competition for qualified employees is tight.

In addition, road repairs and other construction projects increase during the spring.

“Business is still very good in our area. And we still have that possibility that we may have another break-out year in job growth,” Barcus said.

Nationally, 28 percent of employers said they planned to add seasonal workers, but traditionally those jobs are temporary, according to the survey.

In the metropolitan Seattle area, 30 percent of employers said they’d be hanging help-wanted signs in the spring.

The best bets for finding work in the Spokane area will be in construction, manufacturing, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, and services and public administration, according to the poll.