Susan miller daily’s percent hiring quarter

U.S. employers are projecting a continued decline in hiring intentions
for the fourth quarter, according to the seasonally adjusted results
of the latest . “The continuing softness in hiring activity comes as
no surprise as weakening market conditions are causing many companies
to carefully adjust their hiring in line with the demand for their
product or service,” said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief
executive officer of Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc.Of the 14,000
employers surveyed in the United States, 22 percent expect to increase
their staff levels during the October-December period, while 13
percent expect to reduce their payrolls, resulting in a net employment
outlook of 9 percent. Fifty-nine percent expect no change in hiring
and 6 percent are undecided about their fourth quarter hiring plans.
The fourth quarter outlook is the 10 consecutive quarter of declining
employer sentiment in the Manpower survey. Seasonally adjusted survey
data shows that six of the 10 industry sectors surveyed will decrease
hiring slightly during the upcoming quarter compared with the third
quarter. Durable and non-durable goods manufacturing,
transportation/public utilities, wholesale/retail trade,
finance/insurance/real estate and services employers all expect
decreased hiring activity during the upcoming quarter. Employers in
the construction, education and public administration sectors indicate
stable hiring conditions, while mining remains the only sector looking
to increase staff levels for the upcoming quarter. Locally, the
Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Washington County employers responding to the
survey indicated that 18 percent of the companies interviewed plan to
hire more employees, while 19 percent expect to reduce their
payrolls, resulting a net employment outlook of -1 percent, according
to Manpower spokeswoman Nicole Langley. Another 60 percent expect to
maintain their current staff levels and 3 percent are not certain of
their hiring plans. “Employers anticipate staff levels to be lower
than the third quarter of 2008 when 30 percent of companies
interviewed intended to add employees, and 13 percent planned to
reduce staff levels,” Langley said. “Compared to one year ago when 18
percent of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 3
percent expected to cut payrolls, hiring intentions for the fourth
quarter are weaker.” The global survey data reveals that employers in
India, Costa Rica, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, Colombia, Romania, Poland,
Argentina, Australia and South Africa report the most favorable
fourth-quarter hiring plans. Conversely, employers in Spain, Ireland
and Italy are reporting the weakest hiring expectations for the
quarter ahead. It would appear that the growing pessimism seen in
the U.S. market over the past two quarters has moved eastward into
Asia Pacific as employers in that region have become notably more
conservative in their hiring plans.

will soon kick off the new Milwaukee Foreclosure Partnership
Initiative (MFPI), a formal effort to address the mortgage foreclosure
crisis in the city. The kickoff will take place Thursday, Sept. 18,
at Convent Hill, 455 E. Ogden. Barrett started the action-oriented,
public-private partnership to formalize efforts that began two years
ago when Milwaukee started to see an increase in foreclosures as a
result of the national mortgage crisis. The group will be led up by
chairs Kathryn Dunn of the and attorney Steve Chernoff with Godfrey &
Kahn S.C.Currently, there are about 1,500 bank-owned foreclosures in
Milwaukee and foreclosure filings are up 56 percent this year compared
with last year. The partnership, which includes lenders, foundations
and community stakeholders, is aimed at steadying Milwaukee
neighborhoods most affected by the foreclosure crisis, using a three-
tiered approach: prevention, intervention and stabilization. “City
resources are being taxed by the increase in foreclosures in
Milwaukee,” Barrett said. “The underlying instability in the
neighborhoods hardest hit only makes our challenge that much greater.
The work of this partnership is going to be critical in forming our
solution to make these neighborhoods whole again.” In anticipation of
federal money coming to Milwaukee as a result of the passage last
month of the , Barrett said he and other city officials want to put
together a data-driven strategy to address the problem. The City of
Milwaukee already has created a database of bank-owned properties and
has mapped locations throughout the city. City officials are working
to implement an ongoing monitoring system that will track foreclosed
properties and foreclosure filings in the . The tracking will serve as
an early warning system to alert officials to neighborhood trends and
forecast where future foreclosed properties may be located. “There
will not be a one-size-fits-all approach to this,” Barrett said. “We
know we need to tailor our efforts neighborhood-by-neighborhood based
on the severity of the problem and the strength of the housing market
in that area. The challenges before us are great, but together we can
find and implement meaningful solutions that will make our
neighborhoods stronger.”

announced today that it has begun restoration of a downtown Milwaukee
icon, the old Pfister and Vogel Tannery water tower. The water tower
is original to the tannery and is being saved and restored as an
artifact and reminder of the years of tannery operations at the
property. The site is the location for a new Mandel development, The
North End, located at the corner of Water and Pleasant streets in
downtown Milwaukee. The water tower was moved to its final location
and permanent foundation earlier this summer. The tower is being
painted and will have graphics and lighting added as part of the
restoration process. All of the restoration work is being completed
by city-certified, local emerging business enterprise (EBE) firms.
Mandel Group is covering all of the costs of the restoration work with
private funds. The restoration project is expected to take about six
weeks to complete. The North End neighborhood will include
apartments, condominiums and retail space, creating an estimated $175
million in value. Once complete, the project will span several blocks
along the upper Water Street area, and 38 percent of the land will be
dedicated to open public space, including new streets connecting to
the river and more than one quarter mile of new riverwalk. The first
phase of The North End neighborhood, an 83-unit apartment building, is
under construction, and will be open in 2009.

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher , the largest single gift from an
athlete in the organization’s 32-year history. Gagne’s gift was
acknowledged during a pre-game check presentation at Miller Park
Monday prior to the Brewers’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The
donation is being made through . The Milwaukee-based MACC Fund,
founded in 1976, has contributed $33 million to support pediatric
cancer and blood disorder research and has played an integral role as
childhood cancer cure rates have risen from 20 percent to 80 percent
over the past three decades. Gagne agreed that the MACC Fund would be
the perfect fit for his gift. In addition to his donation to the
MACC Fund, Eric Gagne has helped with other local causes, including a
recent gift of $20,000 to the , which helps terminally ill and
disadvantaged children. Gagne also teamed up with in the “K’s
for a Cause” initiative, making a donation for every strikeout at a
2008 home game, and he regularly donates funds for youth baseball in
his native Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Prior to this season, Gagne
signed a one-year, $10 million contract to play for the Brewers.

The BizTimes Stock Index rose with the broader market to gain 3.98
points and close at 139.95 Monday, but local stocks gave back some of
those gains in early morning trading today. The largest local
decliners this morning were mining equipment manufacturers .

The U.S. political system is unraveling into a nasty, rancorous and
rude shouting match. That reality places a high priority on the need
for deliberate, critical thinking about the issues and the candidates,
according to Susan Marshall, author of today’s .

About SBT: Small Business Times provides news and operational insight
to the owners, presidents and other top executives of closely held
businesses in southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Waukesha,
Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Sheboygan counties.

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