CareerBuilder's job forecast shows cautious optimism

Employers have cautious optimism to start off the new year. Careerbuilder's annual job forecast is predicting new jobs by mid-year.

CareerBuilder's job forecast surveyed 3,000 hiring managers. One out of every four said they are planning to add staff in 2012.

Scott Toussaint a career counselor said companies have maxed out the work the can get from the current employees.

"The truth of the matter is they're going to have to add more staff if they get more business in. They're kind of at the threshold of being able to do as much business with the staff they have right now."


But it's not going to happen right away. Most employers will wait to see how the economy responds in the first months of the year. Toussaint said the beginning of the year will likely show a dip, instead of a bump even though growth could be in the future.

"The seasonal numbers really ramp up those statistics over the holidays. Of course once that's over, things tend to go down again."

Another factor playing into this year's potential improvement: the presidential election.

"Almost every time we go into a presidential election, the economy has looked a little better."

The full Careerbuilder Job Forecast can be found online.