SHRM LINE: Hiring rate up in manufacturing, down in services in February

In February, manufacturing hiring activity will increase and the service-sector hiring rate will drop compared with a year ago, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for February 2015.

In February, for the 11th straight month, the manufacturing hiring rate will increase when compared with the previous year. The service-sector hiring rate will fall slightly when compared with the previous year. The manufacturing sector will reach a four-year high for its hiring rate in the month of February; layoff rates will rise in both sectors compared with a year ago.

A net of 50.5 percent of manufacturers will add jobs in February (57.2 percent will hire, 6.7 percent will cut jobs). The sector’s hiring index will rise by 3.1 points compared with a year ago.

A net of 36.7 percent of service-sector companies will grow payrolls in February (50.6 percent will hire, 13.9 percent will cut jobs). The index will drop by 8.1 points compared with a year ago.

The full report, which also covers recruiting difficulty and new compensation trends, can be found here.