Looking for some good news? U.S. employers are very positive

Back at the beginning of May, Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index took a slight dip but was in positive territory for the sixth straight month, which is the longest streak in the past nine years. This index is the average of two components: how Americans rate current economic conditions, and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse. In April, 32% of Americans rated economic conditions in the country as "excellent" or "good," while 21% rated conditions as "poor."

The U.S. ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter of 2017, which collects results from more than 11,000 hiring managers, is showing even more positive results, with 70% of employers expecting to keep their workforce intact over the next three months and just 4% of employers expecting any sort of reduction in workforce. Employers in all four U.S. regions have a positive outlook for their third quarter hiring plans.

"Employers across the country are optimistic but don't want to get ahead of themselves. In most sectors, employers report relatively stable hiring plans with some upticks - most notably in durable goods manufacturing, where there are the strongest hiring intentions in more than nine years," said Michael Stull, Senior Vice President, Manpower North America. "Technological disruption is rapidly changing skills needs, especially in manufacturing as the marketplace transitions from typical labor to more advanced roles. To keep up, we're seeing employers increasingly invest in training and development programs so people can learn while they earn. We're focused on building programs to help workers get the skills they need for tomorrow while staying employable today."

From a global mobility standpoint, while programs remain concerned with maximizing the value of assignments and relocations, volumes are extremely strong and activity is being seen across all industry sectors.