Society for Human Resource Management (04/02/15)

Hiring activity in the manufacturing and service sectors is expected to rise in April for the 13th consecutive month compared with a year ago, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Leading Indicators of National Employment survey of 500 manufacturers and 500 service-sector firms. A net 52% of manufacturers and 45.1% of service-sector companies will add jobs in April. Both sectors will reach four-year highs for hiring rates in the month of April.

In March, for the 11th consecutive month, recruiting difficulty reached four-year highs. A net 24.8% of manufacturing respondents had more difficulty with recruiting in March, an increase of 12.6 points from March 2014. A net 25.3% of service-sector respondents had more difficulty recruiting in March, an increase of 5.3 points from a year ago. March also marked the 13th consecutive month that recruiting difficulty rose in both sectors when compared with the previous year.

Wall Street Journal (04/01/15) Kathleen Madigan

U.S. manufacturers struggled in the first quarter, but economists say the sector likely will rebound during the spring along with the wider economy. The Institute for Supply Management yesterday said its purchasing managers index declined for the fifth consecutive month in March, to 51.5 from 52.9 in February. The reading is the lowest since May 2013, but remains above 50.0, which signals expansion. The March employment index fell to 50.0, which indicates no change in factory payrolls.

Manufacturers cited several issues that dampened activity in March, including lingering problems from the West Coast port slowdown, harsh winter weather, higher health care premiums, and a stronger dollar. Declining oil prices are “having both positive and negative impacts depending upon the industry,” the report says. Many forecasters have cut their estimate for first-quarter economic growth, but they expect the U.S. will realize solid growth for all of 2015. Low energy prices and strong job growth are fueling domestic demand, which is offsetting weak foreign demand.

Bloomberg (04/02/15)

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the week ended March 28 dropped by 20,000 to 268,000, the lowest since the period ended Jan. 24 and the second-lowest in a year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The 46 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast claims of 286,000. The four-week moving average of new claims fell by 14,750 to 285,500.

Wall Street Journal (04/01/15) Annie Gasparro; Eric Morath

McDonald’s Corp. will begin paying employees at the roughly 1,500 U.S. restaurants it owns at least $1 an hour more than the local minimum hourly wage on July 1. The change will affect more than 10% of McDonald’s restaurant employees nationwide, or about 90,000 workers of all experience levels and ranks. Franchisee employees are not affected by the policy. The average hourly rate will increase from $9.01 to $9.90 in July and reach more than $10 by the end of next year.