Manufacturing- and service-sector hiring are projected to grow in February in comparison to last year, according to the Leading Indicators of National Employment report by the Society for Human Resource Management.

In the service sector, hiring is expected to rise for the seventh consecutive month while hiring in the manufacturing sector is estimated to increase for the sixth time in seven months, the report finds. Specifically, 43.5 percent of respondents in the service sector plan to hire, and 10.4 percent of respondents sector anticipate job cuts for a hiring net of 33.1 percent. The other 46.1 percent of respondents in the service sector intend to make no staffing changes.

On the manufacturing side, 56.4 percent of respondents plan to hire while 9.2 percent of respondents expect to reduce the work force for a hiring net of 47.2 percent. The rest of respondents have no hiring or layoffs planned at 34.4 percent.

From February 2012 to February 2013, service-sector hiring grew by a net of 12.2 points and manufacturing-sector hiring increased by a net of seven points.

"This is the second month in a row that we have seen hiring expectations at a four-year high in manufacturing," says Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM. "The private service sector also looks good."

In January, a net total of 7.3 percent of respondents in the manufacturing sector and 6.5 percent of respondents in the service sector raised hiring packages. When it came to recruiting difficulty in January, a net of 7.9 percent of respondents in the manufacturing sector and 8.6 percent of respondents in the service sector had trouble filling key roles.

Instant Insights /

Manufacturing, service hiring expected to rise in February

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