The labor market is the US is continuing to show signs of recovering from the downturn, a new report claims.

According to the National Association for Business Economists (NABE), 24 per cent of firms it surveyed said they had increased their workforce in the last three months of 2010 compared with the previous year, with only six per cent reducing staffing levels.

"The number of firms expressing positive hiring plans is at a level not seen in over a decade - a sign of improving labor-market dynamics," Shawn DuBravac of the Consumer Electronics Association remarked.

He pointed to rising industry demand and growing profit margins as factors underpinning this employment increase, with the number of firms expecting to boost recruitment over the current three months up from 39 per cent to 42 per cent.

The NABE found industry demand expanded for the sixth period in a row during the fourth quarter of last year, with demand growth across all four sectors and a sharp rise in optimism about the future among respondents potentially generating more jobs.

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures for December 2010 showed a 103,000 climb in payroll employment.

Posted by Fiona Summers