Job market looks set to chill further in 4th quarter

The percentage of employers expecting to add jobs in the fourth quarter fell slightly from the third quarter, according to a closely watched employment survey, The Wall Street Journal reported.

That suggests prospects for job seekers won't improve this year, said Manpower Inc., the temporary-staffing agency, which has conducted the Employment Outlook Survey for 26 years.

"The improvement in planned hiring activity that we saw in the past two quarterly surveys has marginally slowed," said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Manpower chairman and chief executive. "This plateau is not unlike previous recovery periods where the first few quarters of improvement are followed by a short adjustment phase as employers seek confirmation of a changed business environment."

The survey is based on telephone interviews with almost 16,000 public and private employers in 474 markets. Of those surveyed, 24% said they plan to hire more people during the fourth quarter, down from 27% who said so during the third-quarter interview.

About 9% said they intend to reduce their work force, up from 8% in the previous quarter's interview.