A NEW SURVEY CONDUCTED BY the Small Firms Association shows that 62% of small firms plan to maintain the same level of employees over the coming three months, while 14% intend to hire in that period.

Carried out in December, 677 companies employing over 14,000 people participated in the survey.

The acting director of the Small Firms Association (SFA), Avine McNally, said the survey indicated that the rate of job losses and employee hour cutbacks has slowed:

This is a reflection of the series of actions which have been taken by many small firms to reduce costs and retain jobs. The survey also highlights that 42% of firms will implement further workplace actions and initiatives to ensure greater job retention.

McNally said that although 12% of firms had increased their employee numbers in 2010, the final months of last year showed a decline in the numbers employed at small firms. She said this “may have been a reflection of the uncertainty that firms felt about Ireland’s economic future”.

Looking across the full 2011 year, 60% of companies said they expected to maintain current employee levels, and 18% expect to increase those numnbers.

McNally said recovery so far had focused on the exporting sector, but that the survey’s results were a “positive move in the right direction” on recruitment.