Hiring prospects for the coming quarter have improved in most large economies from three months ago, while holding steady in the United States, according to a quarterly survey of employers.
After two or more years of making do with minimal staff levels, employers are seeing enough demand for their products and services that they now need to start adding jobs, fewer employers are sitting on the fence.
As demand starts to tick up, you're going to see more incremental hiring. Most of the excess capacity has been filled in, so you're getting more hiring on the margin. That's what we're hearing.
Job prospects improved in 20 of 39 countries and territories compared with the previous quarter. Hiring intentions were flat in four other economies, including the United States, and worsened in 15.
In the United States, the net employment outlook was a seasonally adjusted plus-8, unchanged from the two preceding quarters. It marked seven consecutive quarters of positive hiring outlooks.
The U.S. net employment outlook -- which subtracts employers who plan to cut jobs from those who plan to add them -- is above levels of a year ago, when its reading was plus-6. The index dipped into negative territory in 2009, when recession meant job cutters outnumbered those adding jobs.
The percentage of U.S. employers who said they planned no change to their staffing levels fell below 70 percent for the first time in two years. Employers continue to squeeze more out of existing workers, but fewer of them have the luxury to continue delay adding jobs.
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