U.S. mining companies in hiring spree

MILWAUKEE, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. employers show no signs of changing their healthy hiring pace in the second quarter, but mining companies are boosting payrolls.

Manpower Inc. said Tuesday its latest employment outlook, based on a survey of 16,000 employers, found that 30 percent of respondents foresee an increase in hiring activity for the second quarter of 2006, 6 percent expect a reduction in payrolls and 58 percent report no change in hiring plans.

Mining is the one industry where significant hiring movement is in store for the second quarter, the group said. Demand for coal has skyrocketed in the wake of high oil and gas prices, and mining employers have responded by boosting their hiring plans in recent quarters.