More than half the US companies surveyed under a study said they plan to hire more professionals in the last six months of this year, with an increasing number also willing to pay higher salaries to new recruits.
According to a biannual survey by Dice Holdings, a specialised career websites provider, more jobs are on the agenda as the hiring process is gathering momentum.
Around 52 per cent of the employers and recruiters surveyed anticipate hiring more career professionals in the second half of 2010 than they did in its first half, the survey revealed.
"A quarter (25 per cent) of employers and recruiters see salaries for new hires rising, compared to just 10 per cent reporting salary increases for new hires six months ago," it noted.
The survey, which covered nearly 800 companies, government entities and recruiting firms, revealed broad-based improvement in recruitment activity across the country.
"Businesses seem to be gradually loosening their grip on the hiring process as the economy improves," Dice Holdings president and CEO Scot Melland said.
"At the same time, professionals are more willing to jump ship now. As the employment cycle strengthens, companies are likely to find it more challenging to keep their top talent," Melland added.
Additionally, nearly seven in ten of those surveyed (69 per cent) believed that layoffs were not likely to occur in their companies within the next six months, an improvement over last November's 61 per cent.
Out of the companies intending to hire more, nearly half (49 per cent) projected that they would add up to 10 per cent more employees compared to the first half of 2010, while 28 per cent planned to increase hiring by 11-20 per cent, the report added.