Survey shows manufacturing hiring up in May

According to new numbers from the Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE), manufacturers were more successful in May than in previous months at locating and hiring the skilled workers they needed for vacant positions. The May LINE data suggests that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, to be released June 3rd, most likely will show greater manufacturing employment growth in May than in April. LINE is a collaboration between the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations.

Since December, LINE reports have indicated that HR professionals had an increasing number of vacant positions for which they were recruiting, however respondents indicated having some difficulty in finding the right employees for the job. In May, LINE revealed that the growth in job vacancies had slowed and that new-hire compensation is increasing (highest since February 2004), suggesting that recruiters had more success filling open positions. Despite the decrease in vacant positions, LINE data shows that most manufacturers expect to increase headcount over the next 30 days.

The May employment index is 59.1 compared to April's 57.7. The vacancy index fell to 64.4 in May from April's 67.6. The May new hire compensation index is at 56.6, up from April's 54.5.