SHRM LINE survey: Hiring expectations in manufacturing sector grow slightly in July

The recent pattern of incremental job growth in manufacturing is expected to continue in July, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for July 2010.

The manufacturing hiring index improved in July on a year-over-year basis by a net of 31.8 points (a net of 39.2 percent of companies will hire in July, compared with 7.4 percent that added jobs a year ago). Even with the positive numbers, the unemployment rate is expected to remain elevated throughout 2010. The rise in the LINE hiring indices is also a reflection of poor job market conditions a year ago.

Still, the net of 39.2 percent of manufacturers that will conduct hiring in July is not far behind the 48.8 percent from July 2007.

Even though only a small percentage of respondents report having a harder time finding top talent, the level of difficulty increased compared with a year ago. In the manufacturing sector, a net of 4.2 percent of respondents had more difficulty with recruiting in June (10.2 percent reported more difficulty, 6.0 percent reported less difficulty). This is a significant net increase of 21.0 points from June 2009, when a net of 16.8 percent reported less difficulty with recruiting.

In the manufacturing sector, a net total of 3.5 percent of respondents said they would increase new-hire compensation in June (4.4 percent increased, 0.9 percent decreased). That is an increase of 3.3 points from June 2009.

The low rates of change indicates that most organizations are keeping new-hire compensation rates flat and that people landing new jobs are continuing to accept lower wages and benefits as the labor market remains weak.

The full report, which also includes data for the service sector, can be found here