LINE® reports lowest manufacturing recruiting difficulty in four years

The latest SHRM/Rutgers LINE® survey indicates that employment expectations for November 2007 have dropped slightly for the manufacturing sector. New-hire compensation in this sector is higher than it was a year ago.

The manufacturing employment index dropped from 44.1 inNovember 2006 to 41.5 in November 2007. November 2006 was a month in which manufacturing employment decreased, shrinking by 23,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis and by 41,000 jobs on a not seasonally adjusted basis.

The new-hire compensation index for October 2007 is above the level of a year ago (12.1 compared with 10.9).

Within the manufacturing sector, the October 2007 exempt vacancy index is nearly twice the October 2006 rate, while the nonexempt vacancy index is a slightly lower than the level of October 2006. These numbers suggest that sluggishness in manufacturing employment is affecting primarily nonexempt workers.

Recruiting continues to be a concern. However, the October 2007 manufacturing recruiting difficulty index (16.2) is below the level of October 2006 (20.5) and reportedly is the lowest in four years.