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Full-time, temporary hiring increases in Valley
youngstown
Positive economic signs throughout the region are leading to a greater number of companies using both temporary and full-time hiring services.
Despite the fact that the local unemployment rate was up for June, the overall economic signs are good, said Thomas M. Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
“I’ve looked at unemployment going back the last six years, and we’re always higher in June compared to May,” he said. “You’ve got a number of high school and college graduates entering the work force.”
Nearly every category except government was up in total number hired between May and June, Humphries said. The government numbers were impacted mostly by school districts that laid off teachers or other staff.
The RG Steel layoffs should have a bigger impact in the July figures than they did in June. July unemployment may be up slightly, he said.
There are more companies using temporary staff because of the lack of consistency within some businesses, said Maria Mineo, branch supervisor/staffing specialist at Staffing Partners in Boardman.
“Companies will be busy one week but not the next,” she said. “They can’t afford to add employees on their own payroll, so they’ll use temporary services.”
Companies are nervous now about the economy so they do not want to add employees who soon might have to be laid off, if a major client is lost. The companies are trying to avoid that liability, Mineo said.
“They keep their core staff, and they use flexible staff during the busy times,” she said. “Luckily for us, the companies can use them for three weeks, and then we can put them somewhere else. It helps keep down unemployment.”
It’s not only temporary hiring that is increasing locally.
Bert Cene, director of the Mahoning Columbiana Training Association, said orders for full-time workers are increasing.
Companies such as Exterran and V&M Star that are trying to expand to supply the oil-and-gas industry are increasing the number of job orders, he said. The typical orders also are holding steady.
“I can understand why some companies would use temp hires if they were hiring today,” Cene said.
Overall, it actually has been a good time for full-time hiring in the area, he said.
The increase in both temporary and full-time hiring is typical in communities with a new industry, in this case the oil-and-gas industry, said Laurel McDowell, branch manager for Manpower in Jefferson County.
“With a new industry, it’s often difficult for companies to get enough full-time workers. So they rely on temporary workers to fill the gaps,” she said.
According to the Manpower Employment outlook survey, hiring is expected to be stronger this quarter. From July to September, 17 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 2 percent expect to reduce staff. An additional 80 percent expect to maintain their current work-force levels, and 1 percent were not certain of their hiring plans.
The expectation is that the Youngstown area will be ahead of the national employment outlook from July through September, McDowell said.