Manufacturing Hiring Expectations Continue Up, Service Sector Hiring To Fall

August 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Employers in the manufacturing sector are expected to raise hiring efforts in September, while the service sector is expected to scale back, according to a recent survey.

The monthly results from the Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE) survey from the Society of Human Resource Management and Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations show that 58% of manufacturing firms are expected to step up hiring efforts, up from 53.5% in August (See Hiring Expected to Pick Up in August), but just below July’s expectations of 58.3%.

Service sector firms are expected to slow hiring efforts, with 53.2% of employers saying they expect to hire, down from 57.9% in August, and even farther behind July’s expectations of 58.5% of employers.

According to the survey, firms echoed the complaint for September’s expectations that finding qualified workers is more difficult than before, but have not increased compensation to attract these workers.

In fact, the survey found slight decreases in the percentage of employers increasing new hire compensation in the manufacturing sector, with new hire pay falling from an 11.8% rate of increase in July to 11.1% in August. The service sector, however, fared better, showing an increase from 10.2% in July to 11.9% in August.

For the full record of LINE data, go here .

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