The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released today, found 23 percent of Grand Rapids area companies interviewed plan to hire employees in the third quarter, while 7 percent expect to shed workers.
As a result, Grand Rapids is expected to see a net increase of 16 percent of employers adding to their payrolls -- a faster clip than the state average of 10 percent but on par with the nation, according to the quarterly survey by the Milwaukee-based employment firm.
The heaviest hiring is expected in Traverse City, where 50 percent plan to hire. Ann Arbor expects the least with only 3 percent. Combined with the 17 percent of employers in Ann Arbor that plan to cut jobs, the city's overall index is -14.
The Holland area -- which includes the Perrigo operation in Allegan -- will keep pace with the state average. In the Lakeshore area, 31 percent of employers plan to add workers while 21 percent expect to shed them.
WOOD indicates that Manpower is a pretty accurate survey on the mood of employers, they also tell us that the Upjohn numbers should be out soon, and taken together, the two will give us a good handle on the state of the business climate in Michigan.
Special hat tip to the GR Press, who combined this story with a YouTube video from drugmaker Perrigo Inc. They are trying to recruit scientists from all over the country to work at the Allegan based company, and they have taken to the web to prove that they are a "hip, fun place to work". Not quite sure they pulled the "hip" part off, but you have to give them big points for creativity.
Michigan. Not your Daddy's Rust Belt anymore. Efforts like Perrigo's will help change the perception that we are stuck in our manufacturing past - we now are moving into the knowledge-based economy.
More of that, please.