Among manufacturing and service-sector companies, about three in 10 expect to hire workers in October, according to the Leading Indicators of National Employment report from the Society for Human Resource Management.
Specifically, the report reveals that service-sector hiring is projected to grow by a net of 4.9 points while manufacturing-sector hiring is estimated to rise by a net of 4.2 points from October 2011 to October 2012.
Of respondents from the manufacturing sector, 49.8 percent report that they have plans to hire workers, and 15.2 percent anticipate work force reductions for a positive net of 34.6 percent. The other 35 percent say they expect their work force numbers to remain the same.
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For respondents in the service sector, 40.4 percent say they intend to hire while 6.5 percent report that they plan to cut staff for a hiring net of 33.9 percent. Among the remaining respondents, 53.1 percent say they have no staffing changes planned for October.
"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," says Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.
Recruiting difficulty jumped 6.4 points in the manufacturing sector while it dropped 3.8 points in the service sector between September 2012 and September 2011. In fact, 17.7 percent of respondents in the manufacturing sector say finding job prospects has become more difficult while only 1.6 percent say it has been less challenging. The rest of the 80.7 percent of respondents from the manufacturing sector report no change in difficulty.
For service-sector respondents, 19.5 percent say they are having greater recruiting difficulty while 11.7 percent say it has become easier. Of the remaining service-sector respondents, 68.8 percent say recruiting difficult has not changed.
"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," Schramm says.
Higher new-hire compensation also has grown by 1.3 points in the manufacturing sector but fell by 2.8 points in the service sector from September 2012 to September 2011.
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