To borrow a line from ’80’s New Wave band Timbuk 3, Selma’s future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades.

Selma may not have any nuclear scientists, but the autumn and winter job market looks rosy according to a press release from Manpower.

The report says Dallas County employers are expected to hire at a “healthy pace during the fourth quarter of 2004.”

For City of Selma and Dallas County officials who have been working hard to get the county’s unemployment rate into the single digits since New Wave was cool the first time, improved hiring is exceptional news.

Still, none of them are taking the time to sit back and relax.

“I’m just trying to get (more) jobs in here,” Dallas County Economic Development Agency CEO Wayne Vardaman said. “Everything I see is positive, the economy looks good. I think we got a shot at it.”

During the campaign, Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. said he’s setting his sights on getting the unemployment down below 7 or 8 percent.

According to Manpower, Selma is getting closer.

“The Dallas County employment outlook is significantly stronger than the third quarter forecast when 3 percent of the companies interviews intended to take on more staff, while 10 percent planned to decrease headcount,” said Manpower spokesperson Mary Helen Little. “Hiring plans are identical to those reported a year ago at this time when 20 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and none intended to cut back.”

That added to the Renesol and Lear plant’s coming on line early in 2005 as well as hiring announcements at Bush Hog and Meadowcraft could mean things are going great and they’re only getting better for Selma’s job market.

“For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Durable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation/Public Utilities and Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services,” the release said. “Hiring in Construction, Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate, Education and Public Administration is expected to remain unchanged.”