Employers in all 100 of the largest federally recognized metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) expect net payroll increases in the third quarter. The expected increases among employers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are the smallest, barely above zero. And they lag well behind employer expectations at the top of the list. Also, a third of employers in two MSAs expect positive payroll growth.

According to a study by Manpower titled “United States Employment Outlook Q3”:

During Quarter 3 2016, 23 percent of U.S. employers surveyed expect payrolls to increase. Meanwhile, 5 percent of employers anticipate a decline in staffing levels and 71 percent expect no change in their hiring plans.

Also:

For Quarter 3 2016, all 100 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States report positive Net Employment Outlooks.

At the bottom of the list, expectations for net increases are only 1% among employers in New Orleans, and in Baton Rouge 2%. At the top of the list, 34% of employers in Albany expect payrolls to increase. The figure in Richmond is 33%.

Expectations varied widely by sector:

For the U.S. as a whole, employers in 12 of the 13 industry sectors report positive hiring prospects for Quarter 3 2016, based on seasonally adjusted data: Leisure & Hospitality (+23%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+20%), Transportation & Utilities (+19%), Professional & Business Services (+18%), Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (+14%), Construction (+13%), Education & Health Services (+13%), Information (+13%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+13%), Financial Activities (+12%), Government (+12%) and Other Services (+9%). Employers in the Mining sector expect payrolls to decline, reporting an Outlook of (-4%).

Methodology: More than 11,000 interviews were conducted with employers within the United States, including all 50 states, the top 100 MSAs, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to measure hiring intentions between July and September 2016. The mix of industries within the survey follows the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) supersectors and is structured to be representative of the U.S. economy. All participants were asked, “How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of September 2016 compared to the current quarter?”

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