Survey Says Employment Should Rise Slightly in County

Survey Says Employment Should Rise Slightly in County
By Ben Antonius

FAIRFIELD - Solano County should see modest job growth through the rest of the year, according to a new study.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released today, found that 37 percent of employers in Solano and Napa counties expect to hire more employees during the fourth quarter of 2006. Seventeen percent said they expected to reduce their number of employees and 39 percent said they did not expect to change.

"Employers have slightly more modest hiring intentions than they did a year ago when 23 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and none intended to cut back," said Sherrie Phillipi, spokeswoman for Manpower, the employment company that conducted the study.

Solano County's numbers are roughly the same as they were for the third quarter of 2006, and mirror the results of many other California counties in the study.

Of the 14,000 employers surveyed nationwide, 28 percent said they expected to add staff and 8 percent said they expected to make cuts during the fourth quarter, which runs from October to December.

Job growth has been a particularly important issue in Solano County, where much of the community commutes to work in the Bay Area. There is also likely to be an increased demand for local jobs as the county's population is expected to increase by more than 100,000 within the next 15 years.

Statewide, the study showed the best outlook in San Rafael, where 70 percent of businesses polled said they expected to increase their staffing and 20 percent said they expected cuts.

Reach Ben Antonius at 427-6977 or bantonius@dailyrepublic.net.