LINE survey: Hiring rate to increase in September in manufacturing and services

In September, for the second consecutive month, the hiring rate will rise in the manufacturing and service sectors compared with a year ago, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for June 2012.

A net of 40.8 percent of manufacturers will add jobs in September (49.2 percent will hire, 8.4 percent will cut jobs). The sector’s hiring index will rise in September on a year-over-year basis by a net of 12.4 points. A net of 24.8 percent of service-sector companies will add jobs in June (31.8 percent will conduct hiring, 7.0 percent will trim payrolls), and the service hiring index will rise by 2.7 points compared with a year ago. The layoff rate in both sectors is at a four-year low for the month of September.

The LINE results for September 2012 reflect an ongoing trend of steady job growth each month, but also reveal a pace that is not strong enough to bring down the nation's continuing high unemployment rate. In seven of the past 12 months, manufacturing hiring has trailed the previous year’s rate, according to LINE data. During that same time period, service-sector hiring fell behind the previous year’s rate in 10 of 12 months.

The full report, which also includes data for recruiting difficulty, new-hire compensation, and vacancies, can be found here.