Wed., December 9, 2009 8:29am (EST)

Survey: Columbus Will Lead Nation for Job Growth in 2010
By Noel Brown
Updated: 3 years ago

AUGUSTA, Ga.   —  
Manpower Inc. interviewed 28,000 U.S. employers to measure national employment trends. The South showed the strongest employment outlook among the four regions surveyed. (image courtesy Manpower Inc.)
Manpower Inc. interviewed 28,000 U.S. employers to measure national employment trends. The South showed the strongest employment outlook among the four regions surveyed. (image courtesy Manpower Inc.)
Twenty-five percent of employers in the Columbus metropolitan statistical area said they planned to hire more workers between January and March of 2010, according to a quarterly survey conducted by the staffing firm Manpower, Inc. That's an increase of 7 percentage points from the previous quarter. Only seven percent of Columbus employers expected to reduce their payrolls.

A spokesperson for the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce attributed the jump in rank largely to the recent opening of a new facility where ATM machines are manufactured for the NCR corporation.

Another factor is the possibility of 30,000 new military trainees coming through Fort Benning as part of a national military base realignment plan.

The Manpower survey used information gathered from 28,000 U.S. employers within 201 metropolitan statistical areas to measure employment trends.

Among the four U.S. regions surveyed, the South showed the strongest employment outlook, with 12 percent of employers expecting to hire new staff and only 10 percent planning layoffs.

Across Georgia, employment prospects in every region surveyed either improved or stayed the same.

Nationally, the numbers were flat. Twelve percent of employers said they would increase their work force while another twelve percent expected to cut back. A record 73 percent of employers didn’t expect any change in staff.