Alexandria, Va. – Jan. 3, 2012 – The manufacturing sector is expected to increase hiring in January 2013 compared to one year ago according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
The report also shows that the manufacturing-sector hiring rate will rise for the fifth time in six months compared with a year ago. The service-sector hiring rate will rise for the sixth consecutive month 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, 42.2 percent of companies will hire while 11 percent will trim payrolls, leaving a hiring net of 31.2 percent. The remaining 46.8 percent expect to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs in January 2013; and
- • In the service sector, 37.8 percent of HR professionals said their company plans to hire workers while 16.4 percent will cut jobs, leaving a positive net of 21.4 percent. The remaining 45.8 percent are expected to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs in January 2013; and
- • On an annual basis—comparing January 2013 with January 2012—service-sector hiring will jump by a net of 15.3 points and manufacturing-sector hiring will rise by a net of 6 points.
“New-hire compensation rose in both sectors as well, a sign that the job market is picking up,” said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.
The December 2012 (the most recent month available) new-hire compensation index shows a net total of 4.8 percent of HR professionals increased hiring packages (5.4 percent increased new-hire compensation while 0.6 decreased such packages).
The recruiting-difficulty index for December 2012 (the most recent month available) shows a net of 17.2 percent of manufacturers had more difficulty filing key jobs compared with one year ago. A net total of 1.7 percent of service-sector HR professionals reported an increase in recruiting difficulty during December 2012 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 |
| In January 2013, the hiring rate will rise in manufacturing and services compared with a year ago. | +6.0 points | +15.3 points |
| Recruiting Difficulty | ||
| In December 2012, recruiting difficulty rose in manufacturing and fell in services compared with a year ago. | +5.6 points | -7.4 points |
| New-Hire Compensation | ||
| In December 2012, the rate of new-hire compensation rose in both sectors compared with a year ago. | +1.3 points | +8.9 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 http://www.shrm.org/“>www.shrm.org and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SHRMPress.
