Robert Half International Anticipates Hiring Gains

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Sept. 7 that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 96,000 in August, dropping the national unemployment rate to 8.1 percent.

On the same day, Robert Half International, a staffing firm headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., released its quarterly professional employment report. The survey tracks professional-level hiring, and said a net 12 percent of executives plan to hire full-time staff in the last three months of 2012.

Other findings include:

• The net 12 percent projected hiring increase is up 12 points from last quarter’s survey.

• 37 percent of executives interviewed said they are “very confident” in their firms’ growth prospects, up 16 points from the third quarter.

• A net 24 percent of respondents in the transportation industry plan to hire in the fourth quarter, the most of any sector.