Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991                   TAG: 9103050210
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SURVEY FORECASTS UPTURN IN HIRING IN ROANOKE AREA

The temporary-help company said Monday that 17 percent of Roanoke-area employers surveyed said they plan to add personnel in the April-June period. That's an improvement over the group's first-quarter survey, which predicted no change in hiring levels, but not as good as the 27 percent of employers who expected to hire in the second quarter of 1990.

None of the employers surveyed said they plan to cut their work force. That is unchanged from a year ago, and compares with 13 percent who expected reductions in the first quarter. The number who see no change in the number of their workers decreased from 84 percent in the first quarter to 83 percent now.

Ann Ward, Manpower area manager, said her company surveys a cross-section of employers in manufacturing, services, trade, finance and education. The poll includes mainly large employers, some of which are Manpower's clients.

Ward said she has seen recent demand for temporary workers from employers who have not hired in three months. Many people are looking for work because of layoffs, she said, and her company is interviewing about 100 job seekers a week.

The second-quarter results for the Roanoke area are less favorable in hiring but more optimistic in job reductions than Manpower's national figures. Of more than 15,000 national companies surveyed, 18 percent expect to hire while 13 percent said they plan to reduce employment in the next quarter. - Staff report