"The Salt Lake City and Ogden areas are raring to go while the job market in Orem is flat," Susan Smith, vice president of Manpower of Utah, said on Friday. "Overall, there's no bad news."

Job prospects appear best in mining, construction, durable goods manufacturing, education and services. While employers in public administration plan to cut staffing levels, wholesale and retail trades voiced mixed hiring intentions.

Prospects are expected to remain unchanged in the nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation, public utilities, finances, insurance and real estate sectors.

Nationally, employers are planning to continue their optimistic hiring plans into the first quarter for next year, rounding out two consecutive years of consistent job prospects, said Manpower spokesman Robert Katz.

Manpower Inc., based in Milwaukee, based its national survey on interviews with nearly 16,000 public and private employers in 470 markets across the country. Results in the four regions showed:

* The West had the strongest employment outlook, where 29 percent of the employers plan to add staff while 9 percent expect personnel reductions. Overall hiring expectations are up from the fourth quarter and this time last year.

* The South had the most noticeable change in the education sector, where employers reported a moderate drop in confidence about hiring gains. Overall, 26 percent of employers are likely to increase staff while 8 percent anticipated trimming payrolls.

* In the Northeast, 22 percent of the employers surveyed expected an increase in payrolls while 12 percent expected to reduce staffs. Results suggested a decline in hiring compared with the fourth quarter and the same from last year.

* And in the Midwest, 19 percent of the employers foresee an increase in hiring while 11 percent plan to reduce staffing levels. The hiring pace remains consistent with the fourth quarter and is likely to slow down slightly compared with a year ago.

Globally, more than 45,000 employers were interviewed in 23 countries and territories. Employers in Europe reported weaker employment prospects while employers in India, New Zealand, Taiwan and Australia reported strong hiring expectations.

dawn@sltrib.com