February LINE shows hiring is on the rise.

The SHRM/Rutgers Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE) rose in February after two months of decline, suggesting that the hiring picture is improving in the manufacturing sector.

The overall LINE index for February was 60.5, up from 57.8 in January and 58.7 in December. A LINE

According to the monthly LINE report, hiring increased in February among hourly production workers but not among salaried managerial and professional employees, adding "there is no evidence of escalating wage inflation. Just over half of the responding firms expect to increase their employment" in March.

"While the February numbers may not reflect a new employment trend, they do represent a strong contrast to the declining trend of the indexes during the fourth quarter of last year," said Michael C. Parks, a survey analyst with the Society for Human Resource Management who works on the LINE project.

Three of the five component indexes of LINE--Manufacturing Employment, Manufacturing Vacancies and Employment Expectations--rose in February. Recruiting Difficulty and New Hire Compensation declined.

Parks said that the most notable change was in the Manufacturing Employment index. That measure rose from 55.8 to 60.4, "signaling an increased demand for workers."

He noted that the Employment Expectations index had risen in January after reaching an 11-month low in December. "Increases in both employment and vacancies suggest an increase in the demand for labor," said Parks.

--Steve Bates is managing editor for HR News.