Published April 2002

Report finds county hiring trends not expected
to improve this spring

By Eric Fetters
Herald Business Writer

One-third of Snohomish County businesses surveyed by Manpower Inc. expect to lay off workers this spring, according to a report recently released by the temporary-staffing company.

Add to that only 3 percent of businesses in the survey predicting they will recruit more workers during April, May and June, and it looks as if the local employment slump will not end soon. That’s in contrast with the survey’s results nationally, which indicate hiring is expected to improve this spring.

Manpower did not release the number of companies in Snohomish County that were contacted for the survey. So it’s unknown whether the local sample was large enough to produce a scientific result, and if so, what the margin of error would be. However, the survey is a good indicator of general trends.

In Snohomish County, 61 percent of the surveyed businesses said they planned to make no personnel additions and subtractions.

“I think, unfortunately, that is what we’re looking at. Not many businesses are hiring more people than they already have,” said Donna Thompson, Snohomish County’s regional labor economist for the state Department of Employment Security.

Local hiring of new workers has been limited lately to health-care businesses and the military, she said.

January’s unemployment rate of 8 percent in Snohomish County was the highest since January 1993, when the figure reached 8.2 percent.

The Manpower survey at this time last year showed 20 percent of the businesses surveyed in the Everett and Lynnwood areas planned to add staff, with only 13 percent predicting layoffs.

Michael Tamboer of Manpower’s office in Everett said he was somewhat surprised by the number of local companies indicating they may still cut their staffs in the coming months. That 33 percent figure was out of line with both the regional and national percentages.

“Areawide, however, I think we’re seeing a little more encouraging news,” Tamboer said. In the Seattle metro area, for example, 9 percent of surveyed employers say they will add workers, while 16 percent say they will decrease their number of employees. In Tacoma, Spokane and the Tri-Cities, 30 percent of those surveyed plan to add workers.

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