Employers around the world are indicating an uptick in hiring in the new year. However, some regions — such as Asia Pacific — are projecting a healthier outlook than other regions, such as the US.

According to a newly released report from Manpower Inc., hiring in the Asia Pacific region will likely return to pre-recession levels at the start of 2010.

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey (which tracks activity for the first quarter of 2010) states the employment picture looks brightest from January through March in India, Brazil, Singapore, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Australia and Peru. Hiring appears to have the least positive outlook in Ireland, Romania and Spain during the first quarter of the year.

In year-over-year comparisons, employers from 19 of the 35 countries and territories surveyed said they expect stronger hiring activity during the first three months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2009.

Employers in the US are more confident than they were just three months ago about employment prospects. However, they expect to record the worst first quarter hiring performance in nearly 30 years.

At the same time, recruiters anticipate a promising rebound in 2010. Executive recruiters who participated in ExecuNet's Recruiter Confidence Index (RCI) in November said they expect a 15 percent increase in assignments in 2010.

The industries those recruiters project the greatest opportunities for executives in 2010 are healthcare; clean/green technology; energy/utilities; life science; and high tech.

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