MILWAUKEE—The Great Rehiring is beginning in the U.S. with more than 7,300 employers reporting the most optimistic outlooks since 2000 for the three months ahead, according to the latest Employment Outlook Survey from ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN).

Employers in all 12 industries Manpower tracks report positive outlooks, with the strongest hiring activity forecast for Leisure & Hospitality (+41%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+29%), Education & Health Services (+27%), Transportation & Utilities (+26%), and both Durable and Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (+25%).

Michigan, at a net hiring outlook of 36 percent of businesses planning to add staff, ranks No. 5 in the country among the states for projected job growth, behind only Delaware, Utah, Virginia, and North Carolina. Hiring outlooks are weakest in Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Alabama, and the District of Columbia.

As hiring picks up talent supply remains muted. COVID-19 has created the biggest workforce shift and reallocation of in-demand skills since World War II. Nearly  half of employers reported difficulty filling roles in operations and logistics, and nearly a quarter (23%) reported the same for manufacturing and production roles. There is rising demand too for relevant soft skills with resilience, collaboration, critical thinking and analysis the most sought after from employers across all sectors.

“Employers are ready to welcome their workers back as restrictions lift and America prepares for the New Next while in real life connections resume,” said Becky Frankiewicz, ManpowerGroup’s president for North America. “Yet childcare challenges, health concerns, and competition mean demand still outstrips supply which is dampening the ‘big return’ of the American workforce. It’s a worker’s market and employees are acting like consumers in how they are consuming work—seeking flexibility, competitive pay and fast decisions. Now is the time for employers to get creative to attract talent, and to hold onto the workers they have with both hands.”

View the complete third quarter 2021 U.S. survey results at ManpowerGroupUSA.com/meos .