Hiring duringOctober 2011will be at a near standstill compared to a year ago as recruiting difficulty rises and compensation inches up, according to a monthly survey of HR professionals at more than 1,000 companies across the U.S.

The snapshot of national hiring trends is featured in theSociety for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) Report. LINE is the only national employment index capturing HR professionals' month-ahead hiring expectations.

Manufacturing sector hiring will rise by only 1.1 points on an annual basis. A closer look shows that a net of 30.4 percent of manufacturing companies will hire duringOctober 2011compared with a net of 29.3 percent that added jobs one year ago.

In the service sector, hiring will decrease on a year-over-year basis by a net of 10.4 points. The survey shows that a net of 29 percent of companies will add jobs duringOctober 2011compared with a net of 39.4 percent that did so one year ago.

Additionally, the LINE Report shows that HR professionals in companies with job openings report increased recruiting difficulty in filling key positions and slight increases in new-hire compensation. (The LINE Report of month-ahead hiring expectations also includes data on the previous month's recruiting difficulty and new-hire compensation trends.)

A net of 9.7 percent of HR managers in the manufacturing sector had more difficulty with recruiting inSeptember 2011, a slight increase of 4.9 points from one year ago. In the service sector, a net of 11.6 percent of respondents reported more difficulty in recruiting for key positions during September, marking a 4.6 point increase from one year ago.

"Even with subdued hiring rates and elevated unemployment, once again we are seeing the recruiting difficulty index rise in both sectors," saidJennifer Schramm, GPHR, and manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM. "This suggests that employers are having difficulty connecting with jobseekers that possess the skills they are looking for."

Regarding new-hire compensation trends, theOctober 2011report shows that duringSeptember 2011more companies increased rather than decreased new-hire compensation when compared to last year.

In the manufacturing sector, a net total of 8.7 percent of respondents reported increasing new-hire compensation last month. Specifically, 10.7 percent of HR professionals said their organizations increased new-hire compensation inSeptember 2011while 2 percent decreased it. The survey shows an increase of 6.7 points from one year ago.

New-hire compensation in the service sector also increased. A net total of 7.9 percent of service-sector companies increased new-hire compensation inSeptember 2011— 8.4 increased and only 0.5 percent decreased new-hire compensation.

"The increase in HR professionals reporting a bump in compensation offered to new hires is small but noteworthy given the weak economy," said Schramm.

Released the first Thursday of each month, the LINE Report provides a snapshot of anticipated hiring for the month ahead and also examines data from the previous month.

The LINE Employment Report examines four key areas: employers' hiring expectations, new-hire compensation, difficulty in recruiting top-level talent and job vacancies. The LINE Report is based on a monthly survey of human resource professionals at more than 500 manufacturing and 500 private service-sector companies. Together, these two sectors make up more than 90 percent of America's private-sector employment.