SHRM LINE survey: Manufacturing expected to bring on more workers in September, but hiring activity has slowed in recent months

According to the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for September 2010, the manufacturing hiring index improved in September on a year-over-year basis by a net of 24.2 points (a net of 38.0 percent of companies will hire in September, compared with 13.8 percent that added jobs a year ago). Recent year-over-year increases in hiring are a reflection of poor job market conditions a year ago, and the pace has also ebbed in the last few months.

Conversely, the 14.6 percent of manufacturers that will conduct layoffs in September is the lowest level for the month in four years. The 7.8 percent of service-sector companies that will cut jobs in September is very close to the four-year low of 6.3 percent in September 2007.

Even though only a small percentage of respondents reported having a tougher time finding top talent, the level of difficulty increased compared with a year ago. In the manufacturing sector, a net of 2.2 percent of respondents had more difficulty with recruiting in August (9.0 percent reported more difficulty, 6.8 percent reported less difficulty). This is a modest net increase of 12.9 points from August 2009, when a net of 10.7 percent reported less difficulty with recruiting.

In the manufacturing sector, a net total of 5.4 percent of respondents reported increasing new-hire compensation in August (7.0 percent increased, 1.6 percent decreased). That is an increase of 5.6 points from August 2009.

The low rate of change indicates that most organizations are keeping new-hire compensation rates flat, most likely because many people landing new jobs are accepting 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