This could be the busiest July in the last four years for hiring in the U.S. manufacturing and service sectors, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s new leading indicators of a national employment report.

The report’s survey found 58.0 percent of manufacturing companies plan to hire in July while 4.84 percent plan to reduce their workforces, for a net increase of 53.2 percent. That compares to a net increase of 38.4 percent in July 2013.

Among service-sector employers, 54.4 percent plan to add staff in July and 5.2 percent plan to cut their workforces for a net increase of 49.2 percent. That’s up from a net increase of 42.5 percent in July 2013.

Looking back at June, the percent of human resource professionals reporting recruiting challenges for key positions also hit four-year highs for the month in both the manufacturing and service sectors. A net of 25.9 percent of manufacturing respondents had more difficulty with recruiting in June, a jump from 13.8 percent in June 2013. A net of 19.3 percent of service-sector HR professionals had more difficulty recruiting in June, up from 13.0 percent a year ago.

“With hiring rates trending upward, it makes sense that recruiting difficulty has also continued to rise,” said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workforce trends at SHRM. “The index rose in both sectors in June compared with a year ago, indicating that competition for the most qualified candidates in key positions may be heating up.”

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