core sector communique

SHRM Report: October 2012 Hiring Expected to Rise Slightly

Alexandria, Va. – Oct. 4, 2012 – Roughly three in 10 manufacturing and service-sector companies plan to hire workers in October 2012 according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

The SHRM LINE Report—Leading Indicators of National Employment®--provides a snapshot of month-ahead hiring expectations. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report analyzes past-month hiring trends.)

The report also shows that service-sector hiring will rise by a net of 4.9 points and manufacturing-sector hiring will rise by a net of 4.2 points on annual basis (comparing October 2012 with October 2011).

Respondents include HR professionals from 500 service-sector companies and 500 manufacturing companies.

A closer look shows:

• In the manufacturing sector, 49.8 percent of HR professionals said their company plans to hire workers while 15.2 percent will cut jobs, leaving a positive net of 34.6 percent. The remaining 35 percent are expected to hold steady with no hiring or layoffs in October 2012; and

• In the service sector, 40.4 percent of companies will hire while 6.5 percent will trim payrolls, leaving a hiring net of 33.9 percent. The remaining 53.1 percent report no staffing changes are expected during October 2012.

"Though more than one in three manufacturers and service-sector companies say they will add jobs in October, the pace of hiring in recent months has not been enough to make much of a dent in the unemployment rate," said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.

Still, 39 percent of HR professionals are “optimistic” and six percent are “very optimistic” about job growth during the fourth quarter of 2012 according to the SHRM Jobs Outlook Survey, or JOS, released earlier this week. Twenty-seven percent are neither optimistic nor pessimistic as they go about business during the current economy. To view the JOS report, click link: SHRM Jobs Outlook Survey (JOS)

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.

According to LINE, recruiting difficulty rose 6.4 points in the manufacturing sector and fell 3.8 points in the service sector on an annual basis, comparing September 2012 to September 2011.

A closer look at the recruiting-difficulty index shows:

• In the manufacturing sector, 17.7 percent of HR professionals reported increased difficulty in finding workers while 1.6 percent found recruiting talent to be less difficult (comparing September 2012 to September 2011). The remaining 80.7 percent reported no change in manufacturing-sector recruiting difficulty; and

• In the service sector, 19.5 percent of HR professionals said their company found it more difficult to recruit workers while 11.7 percent found it less difficult (comparing September 2012 to September 2011). The remaining 68.8 percent reported no change in service-sector recruiting difficulty.

“Following the pattern of previous months—and unsurprising given the still slow job market—new-hire compensation didn’t budge much in September in either sector,” said Schramm.

The number of companies increasing new-hire compensation rose by 1.3 points in the manufacturing and fell 2.8 points in the service sector on an annual basis (comparing September 2012 to September 2011).

Highlights of SHRM LINE year-over-year findings:

Employment Expectations	Manufacturing	Service
In October, the hiring rate will rise in both sectors compared with a year ago.	+4.2. points	+4.9 points
Recruiting Difficulty
In September, recruiting difficulty increased in manufacturing and fell in services compared with a year ago.	+6.4 points	-3.8 points
New-Hire Compensation
In September, the rate of increase for new-hire compensation rose minimally in manufacturing and fell slightly in services compared with a year ago.	+1.3 points	-2.8 points

Source: SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment

To read the full SHRM LINE Report, visit: http://www.shrm.org/line and click the “Latest LINE Report” button. Follow SHRM Research on Twitter @SHRM_Research.

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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. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SHRMPress.