It’s a non-denominational holiday miracle! (Okay, ’miracle’ might be a bit of an oversell, but regardless…) Good things are in store for the job market this coming year, if CareerBuilder’s 2011 Job Forecast is any indication.

Released today, the annual survey shows that more employers plan to grow jobs and increase salaries than last year – indicating a stronger overall employment picture for 2011.  According to CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson, in a statement for the press release:

“More than half of employers reported they are in a better financial position today than they were one year ago…Our survey indicates more jobs will be added in 2011 than 2010, but job creation will remain gradual. The year will be characterized by steady, moderate gains across various industries.”

For this year’s annual survey about the state of the job market and employment trends, CareerBuilder surveyed over 2,500 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.  Below is a summary of the results: 

HIRING AND EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN 2011

• Continued Growth of Full- and Part-time Staff: According to the survey, 24 percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2011 (up from 20 percent in 2010 and 14 percent in 2009), and 13 percent said the same of  part-time employees (up from 11 percent in 2010 and 9 percent in 2009).
• Less Downsizing Planned: In another promising sign, plans to downsize staffs are trending below the last two years.  Only 7 percent of employers plan to decrease full-time headcount this year, marking an improvement from 9 percent in 2010 and 16 percent in 2009; and only 5 percent plan to decrease part-time staff (down from 8 percent last year and 14 percent the year before).
• Increased Reliance on Contract and Temporary Workers: In order to supplement leaner staffs in the comin year, 34 percent of hiring managers say they will hire contract or temporary workers, 24 percent of whom expect to add more than they did last year. Moreover, 39 percent of employers plan to extend permanent job offers to these workers.
• More Competitive Compensation: Amid increasing concerns over top talent leaving, 61 percent of employers said they will increase compensation for their existing staff in 2011, up from 57 percent in 2010. When it comes to hiring, 31 percent plan to increase their job offers to candidates, up from 29 percent last year.

REGIONAL HIRING:  Similar to last year’s forecast, the West surpasses other regions when it comes to hiring plans – but only slightly – with 26 percent of hiring managers in the West reporting plans to add full-time, permanent headcount followed closely by 24 percent in the Northeast, 23 percent in the Midwest and South.  As for downsizing plans, 8 percent of employers in the South expect to decrease headcount followed by 7 percent in the Northeast, Midwest and West.

HIRING AND COMPANY SIZE: While small businesses have been slower to recover, hiring is gradually improving among companies of all sizes.  Thirty percent of employers with over 250 employees plan to increase full-time, permanent headcount in 2011, followed by 27 percent of employers with 51 to 250 employees and 14 percent of employers with 50 or less employees.  Five percent of employers with 1 to 50 employees plan to reduce their workforce compared to 6 percent of businesses with 51 to 250 employees and 9 percent with more than 250 employees.

Download the full CareerBuilder 2011 Job Forecast here.