The following is not a typo:
There will be more hiring in manufacturing and less in the services sector in February 2007 versus a year ago, according to the latest numbers from the Leading Indicator of National Employment report.
However, despite an overall drop in job vacancies, firms continue to face difficulty in finding highly qualified applicants to fill key positions.
“Within both the manufacturing and service sectors, recruiting difficulty continues to be a major concern, with new-hire compensation in January 2007 rising faster than it was a year ago,” said the report, a joint effort between the Society for Human Resource Management and the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations.
Indeed, the report suggests the tight market is forcing an increasing number of businesses to boost starting salaries to attract more qualified applicants.
Within manufacturing, overall vacancy growth has slowed considerably. Slightly more manufacturers expect to grow their workforce next month versus a year ago, and employment expectations within the sector rose to 46.3 in February from 28.2 in January.
The percentage of manufacturers reporting fewer vacancies rose to 17.2 this month from 8 in January 2006.
Meanwhile, more services sector firms anticipate reducing their workforce in February than did in February 2006.
