Executive search firm ZRG Partners reported its Global Industrial Hiring Index rose to a strong reading of 134.9 in the fourth quarter from the third quarter’s reading of 122.0. It jumped year over year from a reading of 98.3 in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Fourth-quarter hiring trends in the US rose 12% from the prior quarter and 33% year over year. Stronger hiring patterns provide evidence that US companies are confident and are now seeking talent across a number of industrial subsectors, according to the report.

This fourth quarter’s hiring demand was the highest ZRG Partners has ever recorded for the industrial sector.

“Another strong quarter to end 2017 came as no real surprise given the demand our industrial team was seeing in search activity to end the year,” said Nate Frank, managing director, ZRG industrial practice. “Looking ahead, it will be interesting to observe what impact stock market volatility in the first quarter has on hiring activity early in 2018.”

Globally, three subsectors showed strong increases of more than 20% in hiring demand compared to the third quarter: Heavy equipment, chemicals and automotive. According to the report, all three subsectors had been more or less muted during the first three quarters of the year but all had very strong finishes to the year. The Diversified Manufacturing subsector, which had strong gains in the third quarter, continued its ascent with a gain of 14% in the fourth quarter.

The index’s analysis utilizes a proprietary algorithm that looks at hiring within selected benchmark companies in seven distinct segments. ZRG Partners collaborates with data from the CEB TalentNeuron tool and Pitchbook to assemble the sector data that drives the index.