Survey Finds Flat Job Prospects

Nashville’s second quarter employment outlook is flat.

The most recent Manpower survey finds that about half of the city’s employers have no plans to hire or fire workers in April, May and June.  Thirteen percent say they’ll probably add new employees, while an equal number expect to reduce their payrolls.

It’s the first time in a while the survey has predicted zero job growth for Nashville.  But Manpower spokesman Ed Condon says that isn’t necessarily cause for concern.

“If they start to develop a trend quarter to quarter, it starts to become of more significance. But what we can take from this is that I think people are in a little bit more of a thought process before adding staff.”

The Manpower survey predicted 7-percent job growth in city for the first quarter of this year.  During the same period last year, that figure was 20-percent.