SHRM Predicts Hiring to Reach Four-Year High in October

 A survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 45 percent of manufacturing executives and 41 percent of service industry executives who responded to the hiring survey said they will be staffing up this month. The increases represent a 3.5 percent hike for manufacturers and a 3.4 percent rise for the service sector, compared to October 2013.

That would boost hiring rates to a four-year high, SHRM said, with October marking the seventh month in a row of year-over-year gains. Those surveyed said they’re struggling to find the right fit for many key positions, which has been an ongoing challenge for two years, reported SHRM.

In September, SHRM said, 11.5 percent of manufacturing respondents reported increasing new-hire compensation, an increase of 5.3 points from September 2013. The service sector showed up even more strongly, with 12 percent of companies reporting increased new-hire compensation in September. That was up by 4.3 percent compared to a year earlier.

“The difficulty filling key jobs may be why rates for some new-hire positions improved in September for both the manufacturing and service sectors,” said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workforce trends at SHRM. “With many organizations hiring, competition for the best candidates may be heating up.”

Schramm further noted that that the survey found an increase in the difficulty in recruiting for key jobs during September, the seventh consecutive month of such an increase.