core sector communique

SHRM Report: July 2012 Hiring Slow

Alexandria, Va. – No significant U.S. hiring gains are expected in July 2012 compared to the same month a 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 manufacturing-sector hiring will inch up by a net of two points while service-sector hiring will plummet by a net of 17.4 points when comparing July 2012 to July 2011.

A closer look shows:

--- In the manufacturing sector, 44.7 percent of HR professionals said their company plans to hire workers while eight percent will cut jobs, leaving a positive net of 36.7 percent. The remaining 63.3 percent are expected to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs; and

--- In the service sector, 28.8 percent of companies will hire while 4.7 percent will trim payrolls, leaving a hiring net of 24.1 percent. The remaining 75.9 percent report no staffing changes are expected in July.

“Although the service sector’s year-over-year change shows a sharp drop, the manufacturing sector shows a positive, if only slightly better outlook,” 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—June 2012—show little change on annual basis.

The latest new-hire compensation index data, also for June 2012, remained largely flat. Still, the 4.9 point net increase (annual basis) in manufacturing new-hire compensation marked the highest net in four years for June.

Highlights of SHRM LINE year-over-year findings:

EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS

In July the hiring rate will rise slightly in manufacturing and drop sharply in services compared with a year ago.

+2.0 points -- manufacturing

-17.4 points -- service

RECRUITING DIFFICULTY

In June, recruiting difficulty was virtually unchanged in manufacturing and fell sharply in services compared with a year ago.

+0.7 points -- manufacturing

-14.4 points -- service

NEW-HIRE COMPENSATION

In June, the rate of increase for new-hire compensation rose in manufacturing and fell in services compared with a year ago.

+4.9 points -- manufacturing

-0.6 points -- service

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.