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Hiring Projections Static or Down from Third Quarter Levels

NEWS RELEASE

Contacts:
Karen James Cody,
BNA - Press Contact

Washington, DC (September 19, 2007) – While strong by historical standards, hiring plans for the fourth quarter 2007 have remained static or declined from third quarter levels, according to projections from 231 employers responding to BNA's latest quarterly employment survey.

BNA survey results show that:

• Three out of ten employers (31 percent) are expecting to add technical and professional employees during the fourth quarter. This figure is slightly ahead of levels recorded in the same quarter last year (28 percent) but has declined noticeably from projections last quarter (36 percent). The decline in plans to hire technical and professional workers has been significantly greater among large employers with 1,000 workers or more (a 14-point drop from 45 percent to 31 percent) than among employers with fewer workers (a 2-point decline from 34 percent to 32 percent).
• Hiring projections for production and service employees have tapered off after a steep rise from the first and second quarters (both 20 percent) to the third quarter of this year (35 percent). Currently 34 percent of surveyed employers anticipate hiring production and service employees in the fourth quarter of 2007.
• Fourth quarter 2007 hiring plans by employers for office and clerical workers (19 percent) are up 6 points from employer expectations one year earlier (13 percent) but are unchanged from figures recorded in the third quarter of this year (19 percent).
• "Net" hiring projections - the percentage of employers planning to add new positions minus those planning cuts - also suggest a decline or lull in employer hiring intentions. Employer net hiring projections for technical and professional employees have declined 6-points from "plus" 32 percent in the third quarter of this year to "plus" 26 percent in the fourth quarter. There has been an even larger decline in employer net hiring projections for production and service employees (from "plus" 32 percent in the third quarter to "plus" 24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007). Employer net hiring projections from the third to fourth quarter of this years are basically static ("plus" 13 percent in the third quarter and "plus" 14 percent in the fourth quarter of this year.

Further details and breakdowns by industry, size and region are contained in the full report. For press copies, or to interview BNA Surveys Director Matthew Sottong, contact Karen James Cody at (703) 341-3476 or kcody@bna.com.

BNA's survey of the employment outlook has been conducted quarterly since 1974. This quarter's report is based on responses from 231 human resource and employee relations executives representing a cross-section of U.S. employers, both public and private.

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BNA is a leading publisher of news and analysis for professionals in business and government. Reporting from Washington, D.C. and the state capitals for more than 75 years, BNA is the oldest wholly employee-owned company in the United States