TRAVERSE CITY -- Job prospects in the Traverse City area are expected to be among the best in the state for the summer months, according to the quarterly employment survey from Manpower Inc.
The state's resort areas, including Traverse City and Petoskey, lead the way in projected third quarter job increases from July through September. Officials said the Traverse City area's employment outlook is highest in Michigan and the sixth strongest in the nation.
"If you want to work and have quality references, there are jobs out there," said Karmin Philp, executive vice president for Manpower in northern Michigan.
The Petoskey area had the second-highest anticipated hiring rate among 29 labor markets in Michigan surveyed by Manpower. That tied with the Three Rivers/Sturgis area, where 40 percent of employers surveyed also expect new third-quarter hires.
In Cadillac, 17 percent of businesses surveyed anticipate third-quarter hirings, while 73 percent expect no change. The statewide average is around 21 percent of businesses expecting job growth, compared to 62 percent with no change and 11 percent with layoffs.
About 30 employers in each community are interviewed in conjunction with Manpower's job survey, done among 14,000 employers around the country. Philp said the region's job prospects for July through September generally improve because of the region's tourism economy and a seasonal increase in construction work.
Some local employers said they plan to take on extra workers for the summer, including the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme.
"We are not scaling back by any means," resort spokesman J. Michael DeAgostino said. "We expect a busy summer."
The resort employs between 400 and 500 people in the offseason and as many as 950 during the summer months, DeAgostino said. High gas prices mean some vacationers might choose to stay home, but the resort wants to avoid a dip in service.
Philp said gas prices are a "wild card" in the results, as employer surveys were taken in April before gas prices started their climb past the $4 per-gallon mark.
"I'm a little concerned as to what the gas prices are going to do," she said.
Some downtown Traverse City employers said they'd keep staffing levels flat or add a few employees for the summer season. Brian Nowak, manager of Boyne Country Sports in downtown Traverse City, said he expects business to allow him to keep employment levels on par with recent years.
Nora Wiser, owner of Harbor Wear downtown, will have one fewer part-time employee this summer. She's being "cautious," she said, in part because of her experience this year with another shop she owns in Florida.
"I've already been through a tourist season, and it was slower there than in previous seasons," she said.
At least one employer isn't quite sure how many people he'll hire. Doug Hickman, 59, of Bellaire, just opened his new shop Nifty Things! in downtown Traverse City. He plans to feel out the business environment before settling on a final staffing number.
"We just opened Friday afternoon, and if anything, we're hiring because we started at zero," Hickman said. "The traffic we see in the short term will basically (determine) what level we hire to. We've got five right now, and it's not enough."
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