MILWAUKEE, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. employers are showing signs of widespread optimism about hiring across the country and in all work sectors, employment firm Manpower said Tuesday.
The Net Employment Outlook for the second quarter of 2012 showed improvements in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, the firm said.
The national index came in at 10 percent, which is 12 percentage points above the recessionary low of minus 2 percent posted in 2009, Manpower said.
The seasonally adjusted survey results show the index up from 9 percent in the first quarter of 2012 and from plus 8 percent in the second quarter of 2011.
Although gains have been gradual, "This demonstrates a considerable improvement in employer confidence that is not easily seen quarter over quarter, with the last eight quarters showing only relatively stable or slight improvements in hiring conditions," Manpower said in a statement.
"Our survey data … particularly encouraging because the positive hiring intentions are widespread across states, regions and markets," said Jonas Prising, Manpower Group president of the Americas.
"Although we are not out of the woods yet, our data shows that this hiring progression is increasingly solid," he said.
For the second quarter, the index showed positive results in all 13 industry sectors, led by leisure and hospitality with an index of 26 percent, followed by mining at 20 percent and professional services at 17 percent.
