SHRM LINE: Mixed hiring outlook at beginning of 2015

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

In January, for the 10th 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 January; the layoff rate will fall in manufacturing and rise in services compared with a year ago.

A net of 37.1 percent of manufacturers will add jobs in January (46 percent will hire, 8.9 percent will cut jobs). The sector’s hiring index will rise by 10.4 points compared with a year ago.

A net of 28 percent of service-sector companies will grow payrolls in January (42.5 percent will hire, 14.5 percent will cut jobs). The index will drop by 0.9 points compared with a year ago.

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