Manpower Incorporated’s newest survey found that DeKalb’s job market is growing.

The Employment Outlook Survey, released on Sept. 11, shows 37 percent of companies that were polled plan to increase hiring from October through December of this year.

Staffing increases

Retail, construction, public utilities and transportation industries are expected to increase the most.

More than half of DeKalb area businesses expect to remain at current staffing levels. The city is above the national average which has 27 percent of businesses expecting to add new jobs.

“In the last few years there’s been a real push on the part of the city to bring in new businesses,” said Paul Rasmussen, DeKalb’s Economic Development Adviser.

Rasmussen said DeKalb lost close to 4,000 jobs when local manufacturers began to shut down about a decade ago. In response, DeKalb began courting businesses such as Target and 3M to build distribution centers.

Shift from Manufacturing to Warehouse jobs

The expansion of warehousing has gone a long way towards improving the local job market, said Roger Hopkins, Executive Director of DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation.

Hopkins said he expects more jobs to be added through these warehouse and distribution centers in the coming months.

Big business, however, is not the only saving grace for the area.

“The bread and butter of what we’re doing is trying to attract businesses with 20 to 25 employees,” Hopkins said. These mid-size businesses add jobs at a more modest rate but have strong potential to stay firmly rooted in the community.

A Retail Surge

The city also sought out retail development, a common option for students seeking part-time work.

“If you were here eight years ago you know there was very little retail,” Rasmussen said. “Now retail has sprung up on West Lincoln Highway.”

A shopping center is underway on Annie Glidden Road and is expected to bring more jobs to the area. The shopping center will include hotels and other businesses to attract consumers off the tollway, Rasmussen said.

Hopkins said transportation jobs, such as over the road trucking, are constantly growing and, after a tough struggle through the 1980s, railroads are beginning to hire new workers to replace those hitting retirement age.