core sector communique

SHRM Report: June 2012 Hiring Pace Expected to Slow

Alexandria, Va. – May 31, 2012 – Hiring by U.S. companies is expected to continue in June 2012 though the pace will slow for the fifth time in the last six months when compared to the same month one year ago according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

The report, a survey of 500 service-sector companies and 500 manufacturing companies, shows that service-sector hiring will drop by a net of 14 points and manufacturing-sector hiring will drop by a net of 3.2 points, when comparing June 2012 to June 2011.

The month alone, however, shows a more positive outlook—far more employers plan to hire than lay off workers.

--- In the manufacturing sector, 49 percent of respondents said their company will hire workers while 5.2 percent will cut jobs, leaving a positive net of 43.8 percent. The remaining 45.8 percent expect no activity—no hiring or layoffs.

--- In the service sector, 31 percent of companies represented in the survey will hire while 8.6 percent will trim payrolls, leaving a hiring net of 22.4 percent. The remaining 60.4 percent report no staffing changes.

“The monthly LINE findings continue to show positive net employment expectations however year-over-year comparisons paint a somewhat less rosy picture,” said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.

The findings are detailed in the SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment® (LINE®) Report. LINE features the only national monthly employment indices capturing HR professionals’ month-ahead hiring expectations, and past-month recruiting difficulty. The report also includes a new-hire compensation index and an index of exempt and non-exempt job vacancies.

The most recent recruiting-difficulty index data—May 2012—show that it got a little easier to find candidates to fill key jobs. On an annual basis, difficulty dropped 0.3 points in the manufacturing sector and 0.2 points in the service sector.

The latest new-hire compensation index data, again for May 2012, remained largely flat, too. Notably, the few companies that did increase wages and compensation marked the highest net in four years for both sectors during the month of May.

Highlights of SHRM LINE year-over-year findings:

---Employment Expectations - In June, the hiring rate will fall slightly in manufacturing and drop sharply in services compared with a year ago.

- Manufacturing -3.2 points

- Service -14.0 points

---Recruiting Difficulty - In May, recruiting difficulty was virtually unchanged in both sectors compared with a year ago.

- Manufacturing -0.3 points

- Service -0.2 points

New-Hire Compensation - In May, the rate of increase for new-hire compensation rose slightly in both sectors compared with a year ago.

- Manufacturing +4.2 points

- Service +1.6 points

Source: SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment

: The SHRM LINE Report is released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on the first Thursday of each month. The SHRM employment expectations index describes the same time period referenced approximately one month later in the Employment Situation Report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About the Society for Human Resource Management

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India.