Employers plan to hire more midlevel and professional staffers in the first half of this year, reversing a trend of thinning the ranks of middle management over the past several years. The hiring increase comes as a relief for many who were laid off, or who had to take on additional responsibilities to compensate for others who had been let go. Eric Goodstadt, Management Recruiters International's chief marketing officer says many positions will be restored from those that were cut in 2002 and 2003. Only 3.9% of companies plan to eliminate positions in the first half of this year, down from 7.4% at the beginning of last year.

Hiring is expected to be especially aggressive in the construction industry, aerospace and aviation, manufacturing, health care, and the automotive business. The need for financial professionals has also increased as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Many of the accounting positions required to fulfill the demands of the new legislation started out as temporary needs and have become permanent.