Outlook Improving for Job Seekers, Survey Finds

Hiring prospects for Ventura County this summer are favorable, a marked improvement over the three previous months, according to Manpower Inc.’s third-quarter staffing survey.

The Employment Outlook Survey, issued for the months of July, August and September, indicates that of the firms polled in the county, 29% say their work forces will increase, 10% intend to cut back and 51% expect current levels to remain stable. The remaining 10% are uncertain what their employment outlook is.

This is a marked improvement over the year’s second quarter, when only 13% of county firms intended to hire additional employees and 26% planned to cut back. A year ago, 31% planned a staff expansion and 10% forecast reductions.

“We’re seeing such an influx of companies coming into the area,” said Betty Andrews, branch manager for the Camarillo office of Manpower. “The word on the street is, in the next five years this is going to be the next Silicon Valley. Some people believe it, some don’t--I personally believe it.”

For the coming months, the more numerous job opportunities are likely to be in the wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance/real estate, education, services and public administration. Mixed expectations are reported in construction and manufacturing.

Andrews said county job prospects have never been higher.

“Anybody that’s seriously looking for a job can find a job in Ventura County right now,” she said.

Nationally, the outlook resembles the favorable 1988-89 forecasts. Among more than 16,000 companies surveyed, 30% plan staff additions, just 5% expect cutbacks, 61% see no change and 4% are uncertain.

Mary Stewart, public relations coordinator at Manpower’s headquarters in Milwaukee, said the third quarter is “typically the strongest hiring period of the year,” because industries that slow down in the winter pick up again.

Manpower, a temporary-employment agency, has conducted the survey quarterly for 21 years. The findings are based on telephone interviews with more than 16,000 public and private employers in 487 U.S. cities.

Manpower will not say how many Ventura County companies were part of the survey, but Stewart said the same companies are contacted each quarter and they come from 10 industrial sectors.