Hiring by U.S. employers is expected to remain steady in May, but there could be a lag in comparison to an annual basis, according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management.
From May 2011 and May 2012, service-sector hiring is believed to fall by a net of 17.1 points while manufacturing-sector hiring is expected to drop by a net of 3.8 points, the report shows. Still, the report shows a more positive outlook as more employers plan to hire than lay off workers.
Among manufacturing respondents, 46.6 percent say their companies plan to hire workers. Only 6.1 percent of manufacturing respondents expect to see their companies cut employees, resulting in a positive net of 40.5 percent that are to offer employment.
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For service respondents, 35.5 percent say they intend to hire while only 5.1 percent plan to let go of workers. This leaves a net of 30.4 percent expected to add jobs.
"Year-over-year comparisons show employment expectations trending slightly down for May— especially in the service sector—however, overall hiring expectations continue to be fairly positive," says Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.
Regarding recruiting difficulty, the study reveals little change on an annual basis.
The amount of respondents citing higher new-hire compensation also experienced little annual change. Of the respondents that did report changes, they are more likely to increase than decrease new-hire compensation for a net of 9.1 percent in the service sector and a net of 7.7 percent in the manufacturing sector.
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