The hiring frenzy continues, with second quarter numbers released by ManpowerGroup indicating that 2015 will be a significantly stronger hiring year than 2014.

Manpower has devised its own hiring index and, based on that index, the second quarter hiring matched the solid performance of the first quarter. And both of those, indexed at +16, are +3 over a year ago at this time.

"Of the more than 18,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 22 percent anticipate an increase in staff levels during Q2 2015, while 4 percent expect to reduce workforce levels," the workforce company reported. The rest said they saw no change or weren't sure.

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Regionally, only the South showed a decline in hiring intentions, although employers from every state had positive index readings. Optimism was strongest in Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska and Oregon, and weakest in West Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Jersey and Louisiana.

By city, the five strongest were:

  • Boise, Idaho

  • Jacksonville, Florida

  • Grand Rapids, Michigan

  • Milwaukee

  • Seattle

The weakest were:

  • Oklahoma City

  • Youngstown, Ohio

  • El Paso, Texas

  • Wichita, Kansas

  • Birmingham, Alabama

Manpower said globally the index was in the positive range in 40 of 42 nations. Italy and Brazil were the only countries in the survey that saw a decline in the index.

"This is the lowest number of countries and territories reporting negative outlooks since the third quarter of 2008," Manpower reported.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.