Hiring More Than Doubles in 2004

John Wolz

Almost half of all FIN Survey participants increased their workforce in 2004. More than 48% reported hiring more workers, while 13.1% trimmed their workforce and nearly 36% left their employment numbers unchanged.

Those results were far better than 2003 projections, when 29% of companies expected to add more workers in 2004. However, only about 4% of companies in 2003 antici-pated layoffs in 2004, much lower than the 13% of respondents who actually reduced staff.

Nearly 39% of companies forecast job growth in 2005, while 4.4% say they will initiate layoffs. More than half expect no change in current staffing levels over the coming year.

About 44% of manufacturers added to their workforce in 2004. Nearly 40% of manufacturers reported employment remained stable, while 14% indicated layoffs.

The results were similar for distributors. Nearly 50% reported staff increases, while 33.8% said their workforce remained unchanged and 14.3% reported labor reductions.
For manufacturers, 38% projected adding jobs in 2005, while 48% anticipated no change in employee numbers. Only 6% of manufacturers said they would lay off employees in 2005.

Among distributors, almost 42% anticipated job increases in 2005, while a 54.5% majority thought their workforce would remain steady. Less than 3% of distributors forecasted layoffs in 2005. \ �2005 FastenerNews.com