State Survey Results Show More Employers Hiring
       Job vacancies in Massachusetts are up significantly across several high-paying sectors, according to results of a state survey of thousands of employers released on Tuesday.
       According to the state’s Job Vacancy Survey, which posed questions to more than 6,000 employers during the fourth quarter of 2004, 29 percent of companies expected to increase hiring – and only 8 percent expected to decrease hiring. That’s an improvement over the fourth quarter of 2003. Another 50 percent of employers predicted no change in their hiring patterns, with 13 percent undecided.
       State officials said they are encouraged by a surge in demand for workers in the manufacturing, life sciences, and professional and technical services sectors. The survey results also showed 38 percent of large firms – those employing 250 people or more – planned to hire during the next six months and only 7 percent predicted a decline in hiring.
       Another trend, the scrutiny of corporate finances, appears to be triggering a demand for business and financial analysts, as job vacancies for finance and insurance workers increased by 20 percent, according to the survey results, which were released by the state Department of Workforce Development. While its job count is still down from its January 2001 peak, Massachusetts has added jobs for ten straight months, and its unemployment rate in June stood at 4.7 percent. The rate for July will be released on Aug. 18.