While 43.3 percent of service-sector companies are hiring in December, 9.3 percent of employers are cutting staff for a hiring net of 34 percent, marking a four-year high, according to the Leading Indicators of National Employment report by the Society for Human Resource Management.
"The expected rise in service-sector hiring is likely sparked by consumer confidence and anticipated spending this winter holiday season," says Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.
Meanwhile, hiring among respondents in the manufacturing sector is expected to drop, the report finds. In fact, 38.9 percent of respondents in the manufacturing sector say they plan to hire, but 13.6 percent of those respondents are anticipating work force reductions. Still, this leaves a positive hiring net at 25.3 percent. The remaining 47.5 percent of respondents from the manufacturing sector and 47.4 percent of respondents from the service sector expect no job changes.
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From December 2011 to December 2012, service-sector hiring increased by a net of 12.2 points while manufacturing-sector dropped by a net of 3.8 points, the report reveals. In November, recruiting difficulty remained stable in the manufacturing sector, but it grew by 9.9 points in the service sector.
The report also finds that the rate of increase for new-hire compensation dropped in both sectors from last year. In the manufacturing sector, new-hire compensation fell by 1.2 points, and it declined in the service sector by 2.4 points.
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