Hiring in the U.S. manufacturing sector in September is expected to increase compared to the same month in previous years, according to the leading indicators of a national employment report released today by the Society for Human Resource Management. However, hiring in the service sector this month will decrease year-over-year.

The report’s survey found that 56.8 percent of manufacturing companies plan to hire in September while 6.3 percent plan to reduce their workforces for a net increase of 50.5 percent, up from a net increase of 39.5 percent in September 2013.

Among service-sector employers, 39.1 percent plan to add staff in September and 9.2 percent plan to cut their workforces for a net increase of 29.9 percent, down from a net increase of 39.4 percent in September 2013.

“Even though employment expectations are down in the service sector, it isn’t making it easier to find highly skilled job seekers for positions that are of utmost importance to companies,” said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workforce trends at SHRM. 

HR professionals’ recruiting challenges for key positions hit four-year highs for the month of August in both the manufacturing and service sectors. A net of 23.8 percent of manufacturing respondents had more difficulty with recruiting in August, up from 17.7 percent in August 2013. A net of 14.5 percent of service-sector HR professionals had more difficulty recruiting in August compared to the same month in previous years, up from 9.1 percent a year ago.

A net 9.0 percent of manufacturing respondents reported increasing new-hire compensation in August, up from 6.1 percent in August 2013. In the service sector, a net 9.8 percent of companies increased new-hire compensation in August, down from 14.8 percent in the same month a year ago.