A merciful, though slight, drop in the national unemployment rate during November may change the attitudes of employers and job-seekers alike heading into the new year. Perhaps reflecting the decline in the rate of joblessness among Americans from 10.2 percent to 10 percent last month, a new survey by recruiter Dice Holdings demonstrates that businesses are expecting higher employment rates for the first two quarters of 2010 for the first time in a year and a half. Approximately 45 percent of employers and recruiters surveyed said they expect to increase hiring in the first half of 2010, while about 80 percent will try to fill at least one position in the next three months. "We are seeing subtle signs in our business that indicate the labor markets are on firmer ground which this hiring survey seems to reinforce," said Dice Holdings CEO Scot Melland. While a hefty 48 percent of employers said they plan to scale back employment in the next two quarters, the figure actually represents a significant drop from the 75 percent who voiced their decreased hiring expectations last June.  |