For the first half of 2014, US automakers sold 4.2% more vehicles than during the same time last year. May saw strong sales and the momentum continued into June, surprising Analysts. (Analysts expected June to have less sales than May since May was a 5 week month and June was 4.) According to the Wall Street Journal, industry-wide auto sales are its highest pace since June 2006. Despite numerous reported recalls, GM was among the automakers that experienced an increase in sales, up 1% year-over-year. Of the auto companies, Chrysler had the largest sales increase in June, up 9% YOY. Both Ford and Chrysler have projected that sales will continue to grow through the end of 2014. Does hiring demand in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry match the improving auto market?

Motor vehicle manufacturing hiring in the first half of 2014 paced ahead of the same time last year until June, according to WANTED Analytics, the leading source of real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace. January to May 2014 was 23% ahead of January to June 2013. However, a 4-year high was reached during the second half of 2013. If hiring continues to grow throughout 2014, will motor vehicle manufacturing demand achieve a new high? We'll have to revisit hiring demand in this industry later this year to find out.

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Hiring Demand - 1st Half of 2013 vs. 1st Half of 2014

Source: WANTED Analytics

Over the past 30 days, Ford, GM, and Chrysler had the highest number of automotive manufacturing job ads posted online. Ford accounted for 35% of demand by automakers. GM, who accounted for 14% of hiring, actually experienced a 38% decline in demand YOY.

Auto Manufacturers with the Most Demand

Source: WANTED Analytics

Industrial Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, First-Line Supervisors of Production Operating Workers, Software Developers (Applications), and Computer Systems Analysts were the most sought after jobs by the auto manufacturing industry. Three of these occupations declined in demand when compared to the same time last year. Of the jobs mentioned, the IT positions were the only ones to experience year-over-year gains, Software Developers (Applications) is up 14% and Computer Systems Analysts is up 18%.

Each of the most advertised occupations score a 52 or higher on our Hiring Scale indicating difficult recruiting conditions. Our Hiring Scale score ranges from 1 to 99, with 99 indicating hardest-to-fill. Of these jobs, Industrial Engineers is likely to be the most challenging for automakers to recruit, scoring an 83.

Hiring Scale Scores for the Most In-Demand Auto Manufacturing Jobs

Source: WANTED Analytics

If you would like to know which places provide the best recruiting conditions for these jobs, let me know in the comments.