Economy “firmly in recovery mode”

The economy is “firmly in recovery mode” and more companies are planning to hire over coming months, Ibec said today as it published its latest Business Sentiment Survey.

The employers’ organisation said hiring intentions have improved a lot, reaching a series high of +16, on the back of already positive trends in the jobs market in recent months. This, it said, is driven by a strong increase in employment growth expectations among exporting firms, which jumped to +21. The hiring intentions of domestic employers also improved considerably from -6 to +10.

The index of unit selling price expectations is now the only indicator of business sentiment remaining in negative territory, said Ibec.

Ibec said the fourth quarter of 2013 saw a strong rise in the hiring intentions index with a jump from +3 to +16. It said a large increase in export sentiment among the pharmaceutical exporters may signal a recovery in goods exports in 2014

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