(Wines&Vines) - Wineries continue to seek new employees in almost every facet of the wine business, and wine sales remain strong prior to the peak season.

The Winery Jobs Index, based on data from Winejobs.com, grew by 14% in September and 18% over the past 12 months compared to last year. The growth in hiring activity was led by the hospitality job subcategory that shot up 73% in September. Winemaking job postings grew 30% over September 2013. The only slip in hiring activity came in the sales and marketing index, which dropped by 31%.

September was the sixth month in a row that the sales and marketing subcategory fell compared to the previous year. The number of wineries searching for new employees this past month was similar to September 2013, but the number of individual job postings decreased. For all of the latest Wine Industry Metrics and more analysis, visit the metrics page at winesandvines.com/metrics.

Domestic wine gains 1% of market share

Total off-premise sales for the past 12 months grew to $7.74 billion, which is 6% more than last year. September’s sales grew 5% over the previous year to $575 million, according to the Chicago, Ill.-based market-research firm IRI.

Domestic table wine gained 1 percentage point in market share compared to imports in off-premise accounts during the past year, while domestic sparkling wines lost 3 points to imports.