Hiring intentions rise slightly for 2013

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CHICAGO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A survey of U.S. employers found slightly improved hiring expectations going into the new year, CareerBuilder said Thursday.

In an annual survey to measure hiring intentions, CareerBuilder said 26 percent of hiring managers indicated they had plans to hire full-time, permanent workers in 2013, up from 23 percent from the survey for 2012.

The survey conducted by Harris Interactive, involved 2,600 hiring managers and resource professionals and 3,900 employees. It involves employers in a broad spectrum of job sectors and companies of various sizes, CareerBuilder said.

The survey also found the percentage of employers planning to reduce payrolls had also increased from 2012.

In the 2013 survey, 9 percent indicated there plans to reduce staff, up from 7 percent for the 2012 survey.

Fifty-five percent indicated there would be no additions or reductions in staff and 11 percent indicated they were not sure.

On the positive side, "more than 60 percent of employers reported that they are in a better financial position than last year and more than 40 percent said their sales increased over the last six months," said CareerBuilder Chief Executive Officer Matt Ferguson in a statement.

While the data looks more promising this year than last, "employers are still assessing the implications of a weakened global market and a modest recovery at home," Ferguson said.

He said employers had not moves substantially from a "guarded approach to hiring that has been evident over the last few years."

Hiring intentions varied region to region with 28 percent of employers in the West indicating they were intending to add workers in 2013. IN the South, 27 percent indicated they planned to hire, while 24 percent in the Midwest and 23 percent in the East indicated they planned to add staff next year.

The survey results have a 95 percent probability of being accurate within a margin of error of plus and minus 1.92 percentage points, CareerBuilder said.