Employers are getting more confident with the economic upturn and are intending to hire more personnel in the coming months, according to a recent Hudson survey.

A survey conducted by Hudson, a recruitment firm, found that out of 4211 employers, 34.9 per cent of them are planning to raise the number of their permanent staff in the coming third quarter of this year. The figure is up by 3.4 per cent from the last quarter.

Those planning to maintain the number of their staff steady lowered from 58.0 per cent to 53.7 per cent. Most of the industries in the survey showed a rise in sentiment, and significant number are now announcing their highest confidence levels since two years ago, said Hudson.

The rise in confidence contrasted starkly against the fear growing in the world fiscal markets regarding a potential worldwide slowdown that clouds the otherwise stable Australian markets.

"The outlook remains upbeat and we expect the labour market to tighten considerably over the next two to three years, as existing capacity is again fully utilised and demand for labour increases," said Mark Steyn, chief executive of Hudson Australia and New Zealand.

"This will see the return of skills shortages and upwards pressure on wage inflation."

The highest rise in sentiment was posted by the insurance and financial services industry, rising by a 14.3 per cent jump from the previous quarter of this year.

Intentions of hiring are now at their strongest levels in the almost ten years of Hudson survey history, with 51.5 per cent of companies stating intentions to hire permanent employees over the coming quarter.