SHRM LINE: Hiring, layoff rates to decline in March

In March, manufacturing and service-sector companies will add jobs at a lower rate compared with a year ago according to the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for February 2014.

Layoff rates will fall in March compared with a year ago, but hiring rates will also decline in both the manufacturing and the service sectors. A measured pace of job growth will continue, however, with roughly two out of five manufacturers and service-sector companies expected to add to their payrolls in March.

A net of 39.3 percent of manufacturers will add jobs in March (44.9 percent will hire, 5.6 percent will cut jobs). The sector’s hiring index will fall by 9.8 points compared with a year ago. A net of 41.6 percent of service-sector companies will grow payrolls in March (46.1 percent will hire, 4.5 percent will cut jobs). The index will decline by just 0.5 points compared with a year ago.

The full report can be found here.