ManPower, Inc (MAN) is set to report earnings after the market closes Monday, February 2nd. Manpower, Inc. provides employment services in the United States, France, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Italy, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and Asia..

MAN is expected to earn a profit of 81 cents for its 2nd quarter. We expect the employment agency announce earnings that will miss investors’ and analysts’ expectations as we believe all know the employment situation is bad and possibly worsening.

In a preview of what investors can expect to hear Monday afternoon, ManPower’s president of corporate and government affairs, David Arkless, told the jet-setters in Davos, Switzerland, “job losses will mount worldwide for nearly two years” and “The trend is still increasing (towards) unemployment, for sure.” He went on to add that we shouldn’t expect any improvement before the end of 2010, ouch.

This makes sense because employment is a lagging indicator, meaning the economy will start to recover long before the employment picture brightens. In fact, the economy could be on the upswing while unemployment continues to climb.

According to our technical analysis, this stock could trade down to $25-$26 fairly easily. Despite the company’s attractive valuations, we are hard-pressed to believe MAN’s quarterly check up will leave Wall Street feeling revved up. We see a value trap here.

Suggested Stop: $34.47