Alexandria, Va. –The manufacturing and service sectors are expected to increase hiring in February 2013 compared to one year ago according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
The report shows that the service-sector hiring rate will rise for the seventh consecutive month compared with a year ago. The manufacturing-sector hiring rate will rise for the sixth time in seven months compared with a year ago.
The findings are detailed in the SHRM LINE Report—Leading Indicators of National Employment®. The report provides a snapshot of month-ahead hiring expectations. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report analyzes past-month hiring trends.)
Respondents include HR professionals from 500 private service-sector companies and 500 manufacturing companies.
The report shows three key data trends:
- In the manufacturing sector, 56.4 percent of companies will hire while 9.2 percent will trim payrolls, leaving a hiring net of 47.2 percent. The remaining 34.4 percent expect to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs in February 2013; and
- In the service sector, 43.5 percent of HR professionals said their company plans to hire workers while 10.4 percent will cut jobs, leaving a positive net of 33.1 percent. The remaining 46.1 percent are expected to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs in January 2013; and
- On an annual basis—comparing February 2013 with February 2012—service-sector hiring will jump by a net of 12.2 points and manufacturing-sector hiring will rise by a net of 7 points.
“This is the second month in a row that we have seen hiring expectations at a four-year high in manufacturing,” said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM. “The private service sector also looks good.”
The January 2013 (the most recent month available) new-hire compensation index shows a net total of 7.3 percent of HR professionals in the manufacturing sector increased hiring packages as did a net total of 6.5 percent in the service sector.
The recruiting-difficulty index for January 2013 (the most recent month available) shows a net of 7.9 percent of manufacturers had more difficulty filling key jobs compared with one year ago. A net total of 8.6 percent of service-sector HR professionals reported an increase in recruiting difficulty during January 2013 compared to one year ago.
The SHRM LINE Report features the only national monthly employment indices capturing HR professionals’ past-month recruiting difficulty, a new-hire compensation index, and an index of exempt and non-exempt job vacancies (in addition to the month-ahead hiring expectations index highlighted above)
Highlights of SHRM LINE year-over-year findings:
| Employment Expectations | Manufacturing | Service Sector |
| In February 2013, the hiring rate will rise in manufacturing and services compared with a year ago. | +7.0 points | +12.2 points |
| Recruiting Difficulty | ||
| In January 2013, recruiting difficulty dropped in manufacturing and rose slightly in services compared with a year ago. | -4.3 points | +1.8 points |
| New-Hire Compensation | ||
| In January 2013, the rate of new-hire compensation was nearly unchanged compared with a year ago. | +0.2 points | -2.0 points |
Source: SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment
To read the full SHRM LINE Report, visit: http://www.shrm.org/line and click the “Latest LINE Report” button. Follow SHRM Research on Twitter @SHRM_Research.
About the Society for Human Resource Management
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 260,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SHRMPress
