Oct. 13--The Society for Human Resource Management projects that modest hiring is expected to bring more jobs than layoffs this month in the manufacturing and service sectors.

But the forecast in its Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) report is tempered by reality.

"I think we're still in a very deep hole," said Jennifer Schramm, manager of workplace trend and forecasting at SHRM's Alexandria, Va., headquarters. "The labor market is still very, very weak."

A close look at the manufacturing sector showed that a net total of 17.9 percent of companies will add jobs this month, marking the highest net gain since October one year ago. Specifically, 33 percent of HR professionals surveyed said their firm will increase staffing while 15 percent will cut jobs, according to SHRM's poll that drew responses from 1,000.

That forecast seems at odds with last month's stunning report of another 263,000 lost jobs, to a 9.8 percent unemployment rate, the highest in more than 26 years.

Schramm said the Department of Labor totals reflect the previous month's activity.

"We're tracking in line with the (Bureau of Labor Statistics) numbers generally, but we're looking forward (a month) with the hiring expectations," she said.

Several military orders created a boom recently at Oshkosh Corp. Bucking a hiring trend in manufacturing, the company boosted its local work force by 500 people to help it fulfill an order for 1,700 mine-resistant vehicles.

A Town of Menasha printing firm has seen the stirrings of a turnaround and is contemplating some new hiring.

"As far as I'm seeing, yes," said Wayne Nemecek, co-president of AmeriPrint Graphics. "And that's different than a month ago."

Nemecek said orders have "kicked up dramatically," particularly from both coasts, and customers want materials shipped to them fast, overnight in many cases. He said customers withheld orders to draw down inventories and now have flipped that cycle as they renew full-scale marketing efforts.

His company, which employs about 40, will likely hire three to four new workers in the coming months, he said. The slots eyed for filling at this point include a printer, binder, a prep person and customer service representative.

Pete Bach: 920-993-1000, ext. 1430, or pbach@postcrescent.com

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