The employment outlook brightened in April, new survey evidence suggests.

According to the latest FÁS/ESRI survey, the percentage of employers expecting a rise in employment levels in their firms over the coming months is five percentage points higher than that predicting a decrease, the best result since April 2006.

The finding comes despite the publication yesterday of a separate survey predicting that 2007 will be the worst year on record for jobs growth in the small business sector.

The main reason for the improvement was a two percentage point rise in the number of firms reporting vacancies in the services sector, rising to 25 per cent in April compared with 23 per cent in March.

The percentage of firms reporting vacancies in the construction sector remains stable at 10 per cent, but the future outlook for the sector deteriorated.

According to the "Net Employment Expectations" indicator - which captures firms' expected hiring patterns for the coming year - the number of construction firms expecting to lay workers off exceeds those expecting to hire workers by 11 per cent.