UNDATED (KDAL) - Employers in Minnesota expect to hire at a steady pace during the first quarter of 2012, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From January to March, 15% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 8% expect to reduce their payrolls. Another 71% expect to maintain their current staff levels and 6% are not certain of their hiring plans. This yields a Net Employment Outlook* of 7%.

“The Quarter 1 2012 survey results show slightly more optimistic hiring plans compared to Quarter 4 2011 when the Net Employment Outlook was 4%,” said Manpower spokesperson Sunny Ackerman. “Compared to one year ago when the Net Employment Outlook was 5%, employers are also slightly more confident about their staffing plans.”