The outlook for job growth is looking brighter, according to two surveys released this week.
Related: HR jobs on the rise
The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index reports its largest reading of small business hiring trends yet — a record 2.11 percent month-over-month increase in hiring this June. Monthly, CBIZ surveys roughly 4,000 companies employing 300 or fewer people. In June, 33 percent of companies in the index increased staff, 48 percent made no change, and 19 percent decreased headcounts.
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"This month's reading points to a more aggressive stance by small businesses in terms of future demand and increased economic activity," CBIZ writes. "Going forward, small businesses will likely base future hiring decisions on potential fiscal policy changes which have the potential to ignite economic growth. However, these fiscal policy changes are still nowhere to be seen."
While the majority of industries represented in the SBEI increased staff totals, the most notable increases occurred within arts and entertainment, construction, real estate, nonprofits, health care and professional services. Utilities and education experienced the largest declines in hiring. Additionally, the Northeast realized a significant increase in hiring of 2.93 percent, the central region increased by 2.68 percent and the Southeast increased by 1.32 percent; surprisingly, the West showed slight hiring declines of 0.07 percent.
Separately, CareerBuilder's 2017 Midyear Job Forecast shows employers are not only going to hire more in the second half of the year, they are also going to pay more, including for entry-level positions.
A majority (60 percent) of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent workers, up from 50 percent last year; 36 percent plan to hire part-time, permanent employees, up from 29 percent last year; and 46 percent plan to hire temporary or contract workers, up from 32 percent last year.
The online survey of 2,369 hiring managers and human resource managers conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder also found that more than half (53 percent) of employers plan to offer higher starting salaries for new employees over the next six months, a "big jump" from 39 percent in the same period last year.
Nearly one third (32 percent) plan to increase starting salaries on job offers by 5 percent or more. Two-thirds of employers (66 percent) plan to increase compensation for current employees before year end and 34 percent anticipate an increase of 5 percent or more.
The industry sectors which plan to hire more full-time workers than the national average include information technology (72 percent are going to hire more), manufacturing (66 percent say this), health care (64 percent) and financial services (62 percent). Geographically, all regions will experience job growth, with the West leading the pack — 67 percent of employers in that region plan to add headcount, while the South remains on par with the national average, 61 percent. The Northeast and Midwest came in below the national average (56 percent and 53 percent, respectively), but are reporting healthy increases over last year.
By company size, midsized companies are going to higher a greater percentage of workers, while small businesses are reporting the biggest year-over-year growth.
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Katie Kuehner-Hebert
Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.
