BRIC countries strongest on jobs

Of the world's 10 largest economies, Brazil and India share the distinction of having the most optimistic employers going into the new year, a survey found. In a survey that included 6,000 hiring managers in countries with the 10 largest gross domestic products, 81 percent of respondents from India indicated their company was in better financial shape than it was a year earlier, international recruitment firm CareerBuilder said Wednesday. When asked the same question, 80 percent of respondents from Brazil indicated their firm was in better shape than the same time in 2011. The poll was conducted by Harris Interactive beginning Nov. 1, 2012 and ending Nov. 30, 2012, CareerBuilder said. In responses to the question of whether or not the company would hire permanent, full time workers in 2013, hiring managers from Brazil and India again were the most optimistic. In Brazil, 71 percent of the respondents indicated they would hire this year, while 5 percent indicated they would drop payroll numbers and 20 percent indicated there would be no change. In India, 67 percent of hiring managers indicated their company would hire in 2013, while 13 percent indicated they would shrink payrolls and 17 percent indicated their payroll size would not change. Looking only at intent to hire, 48 percent in Russia, 52 percent in China, 30 percent in Britain, 29 percent in Germany, 26 percent in the United States, 24 percent in France, 22 percent in Japan and 19 percent in Italy indicated they had intentions to add to their payrolls. "The job outlook presents varying degrees of growth and deceleration as governments and businesses strive to rebuild and expand and deal with large deficits," said Matt Ferguson, CareerBuilder's chief executive officer. "Hiring activity in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) is projected to be significantly higher than other markets while recruitment in Europe remains sluggish," he said. "The overall hiring picture is improving, but companies will remain watchful as they navigate headwinds and maneuver through somewhat precarious economic terrain," he added. CareerBuilder said with 95 percent probability the results of the survey are accurate with a margin of error of plus and minus up to 1.92 percentage points.