Cnn Money - Hiring Update
By Ben Rooney, staff reporterOctober 25, 2010: 7:19 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The outlook for hiring is improving as U.S. businesses continue to report growing demand and increased profitability, according to a survey of leading economists.
In its October industry survey, the National Association of Business Economics said Monday that employment conditions improved in the third quarter to the highest level since the start of the 2008-2009 recession.
580Email Print CommentLooking ahead, expectations for hiring over the next 6 months rose to the highest level since 2006, according to the survey.
The survey, based on responses from 74 NABE members, also showed that industry demand, corporate profits, business costs and capital spending all strengthened in the third quarter from the second quarter and last year.
William Strauss, an economist at Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said in a statement that the survey "confirms that the U.S. recovery from the Great Recession continues, with business conditions improving."
Despite the positive developments, the recovery is still expected to be slow.
A little over half of the economists in the October survey expect gross domestic product, the broadest measure of activity, to expand by more than 2% this year, down from 67% in July.
While the overall employment picture appears to be getting better, the job market is expected to remain under pressure into next year.
Earlier this month, NABE economists forecast the unemployment rate to rise to 9.7% this year, and then fall to 9.2% by the end of 2011. Unemployment in the United States currently stands at 9.6%.
Still, the October survey showed the percent of respondents reporting a decline in employment fell to 12%, a large improvement from the 31% reporting declines a year earlier.