Job seekers’ overall confidence in finding new employment rose in May, with significant increases among job seekers in the manufacturing and production sectors, according to the job search confidence index released today by StartWire, an Internet job site.

The index now stands at a reading of 52.36, up from 50.63 in April. The index sits on a scale of 0 to 100. Scores greater than 50 indicate a strong belief among job seekers they will find a job within the next 45 days, and a score below 50 indicates the opposite. The index has been in positive territory for the past four months.

Looking specifically at the manufacturing and production sectors, the index rose to 54.39 in May, up 6.33 points from 48.06 in April.

“Manufacturing jobs continue to grow at a good rate, as consumer and business spending increases. This gain will help support the U.S. economy even after a weak start to the year,” said StartWire CEO Chris Forman. “While we are still bouncing back from decreased manufacturing job levels, as a result of the Great Recession, we are seeing a big boost in confidence levels from job seekers looking for manufacturing positions.”

The job seeker confidence index for other industries in May from April includes:

• Healthcare/biotech/pharmaceutical: 53 (4.54 increase)
• Engineering/technology: 48.11 (3.09 decrease)
• Admin/clerical: 48.4 (4.36 increase)