Employers in DeKalb and Sycamore are less enthusiastic about hiring than they were a year ago, according to an economic survey of 16,000 U.S. employers conducted by Manpower Inc.

According to the survey, 30 percent of employers in the DeKalb-Sycamore area intended to add staff from July to September, compared to 47 percent of employers that planned an increase this time last year. Survey results also revealed that 64 percent of employers predicted no change in their hiring, while 3 percent of employers predicted layoffs — another 3 percent did not know.

“DeKalb-Sycamore area employers have slightly weaker hiring intentions than in the second quarter,” said Manpower spokesperson Ginnie Weckerly.

For the coming quarter, Manpower predicts that job prospects will be best in goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, education, public administration and services. Employers in transportation and public utilities plan to reduce staffing levels.

Carl Campbell, an associate professor of economics at NIU, pointed out that surveys can often have a large margin of error due to a low amount of local interviews, but that the numbers Manpower came up with do seem realistic.

“The figures sound reasonable to me,” Campbell said. “It depends on how they surveyed in DeKalb. Statistically, if they only surveyed 16,000 nationally, that’s about two employers surveyed from DeKalb.”

Around Illinois

Of the 33 areas in Illinois surveyed, DeKalb has a better outlook than 22, or two-thirds of the areas. The areas that were predicted to have the largest decrease in employment were McHenry County (20 percent) Bloomington-Normal, Champaign, Joliet and the Lake County area (13 percent).

Overall, DeKalb is slightly better than the state average. In Illinois, 27 percent of employers predict an increase in their employee counts, while 5 percent predict a decrease, 63 percent plan to remain the same and 5 percent do not know.

Around the nation

The Midwest ranks lowest of the four regions — The Northeast, South, Midwest and West — of the United States surveyed. The Employers in construction, education, finance, insurance and real estate are predicted to be the highest growing trades in the Midwest region.

Nation-wide, 31 percent of employers anticipate employment growth and 6 percent predict a decrease. The latest quarter numbers are identical to the third quarter report from 2005.