SHRM LINE: Manufacturing hiring rate to increase in March compared with a year ago; recruiting difficulty falls

In March 2017, employment will grow at 59.0 percent of manufacturing firms and decline at 6.5 percent. The resulting net increasing index of 52.4 (59.0 - 6.5) suggests faster employment growth in manufacturing than in March 2016 (42.6).

In March 2017, employment levels will grow at 48.8 percent of service-sector firms and decline at 7.7 percent of firms, producing a net increasing index of 41.1 (48.8 - 7.7), which suggests slower service-sector employment growth than in March 2016 (48.3). The lower employment expectations index for the service sector suggests that in March 2017 U.S. private sector employment growth will be smaller than the 189,00 jobs that were added in March 2016.

Compared with February of last year, in February 2017 the recruiting difficulty index declined by 8.9 points in the manufacturing sector and 8.8 points in the service sector.

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