Hiring expectations in US manufacturing are up for the 10th consecutive month in January when compared with the same month in the previous year. However, service-sector hiring expectations edged down, according to the leading indicators of a national employment report released today by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The report’s survey found 42.5 percent of service-sector companies plan to hire in January while 14.5 percent plan to reduce their workforces for a net increase of 28.0 percent, down from a net increase of 28.9 percent in January 2014.

Among manufacturing employers, 46.0 percent plan to add staff in January and 8.9 percent plan to cut their workforces for a net increase of 37.1 percent, a four-year high for the month.

Additionally, December marked the 10th consecutive month that recruiting difficulty rose in both sectors when compared with the previous year and the eighth consecutive month that recruiting difficulty reached a four-year high, according to the report. A net of 25.8 percent of manufacturing respondents said they had more difficulty with recruiting in December, up from 11.7 percent in the same month in 2013. A net of 24.1 percent of service-sector organizations also reported difficulty, up from 13.4 percent in December 2013 a year ago.

The report is based on a survey of human resource executives at more than 500 manufacturing and 500 service-sector firms.