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Manufacturing to add jobs in January, but pace will follow slow-growth pattern

The U.S. private-sector labor force is expected to add jobs in manufacturing and services in January, but the pace will follow a recent slow-growth pattern, according to the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for January 2011.

The manufacturing hiring index will improve in January on a year-over-year basis by a net of 12.0 points (a net of 29.6 percent of companies will hire in January, compared with 17.6 percent that added jobs a year ago). The service hiring index will rise in January by a net of 10.2 points (a net of 21.5 percent will add jobs, compared with a net of 11.3 percent that added jobs a year ago). Recent year-over-year increases in hiring are also a reflection of poor job market conditions a year ago, and the pace has not accelerated in the last several months.

Nonetheless, the percentage of manufacturing companies hiring in January (40.4 percent) is at a three-year high, and the layoff rate (10.8 percent) is at a four-year low. In services, the 30.7 percent of companies hiring is also at a three-year high for January, and the layoff rate (9.2 percent) is at a four-year low.

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