Reflecting the better labour market conditions, a significant number of companies in the US plan to recruit new personnel during the remaining part of 2011, with customer service and the IT industry expected to offer the strongest hiring prospects, says a survey.

According to a study by job portal CareerBuilder, 47 per cent of employers surveyed are planning to hire employees in the July to December period of this year, up from 41 per cent in 2010 during the same period.

"Last year, certain sectors or departments in companies were producing jobs. This year, the US is seeing job creation in all industries, functions and company sizes," CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson said.

Ferguson further said,"hiring activity will sustain and improve in the months to come with a diverse mix of jobs.

While higher energy prices, debt, inflation and other factors may deter a significant acceleration in hiring, employers have encouraging news for the millions of Americans who are looking for jobs".

Recruitment activity would increase by 23 per cent in Customer Service, followed by 21 per cent in Information Technology (IT) and 20 per cent in Sales.

Besides, hiring activity would be at good pace in sectors such as Administrative (15 per cent), Business Development (11 per cent), Accounting/Finance (10 per cent) and Marketing (9 per cent).

Interestingly, half of the employers surveyed said there is a shortage of skills within their organisation, up from 48 per cent last year. The biggest shortages were in the areas of IT, Customer Service and Communications.

Additionally, more than one-third (36 per cent) reported they have positions for which they could not find qualified candidates, up from 32 per cent last year, the survey noted.

Notably, more job openings translate into more competition for highly skilled workers. Employers (35 per cent) are concerned that top performers will look for job opportunities outside of their organisation as the economy improves.

In the July-September quarter, 26 per cent of respondent plan to increase their headcount and eight per cent expect to downsize staff. Another, 61 per cent anticipate no change, while 5 per cent are undecided on the issue.

In contrast, 29 per cent of employers surveyed had added new personnel in the April-June quarter of 2011, up from 24 per cent last year.

Further, 11 per cent decreased headcount, while 59 per cent made no change in staff levels and one per cent were unsure.

The survey was conducted within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder, among 2,662 hiring managers between May and June.