Employers predict bullish hiring plans for 2018 but competition for talent will be fierce, according to Indeed’s Employer Outlook 2018 report described today in a blog post by Kevin Walker, senior director of field marketing at Indeed.

The survey found 61% of respondents expect to hire more people in 2018 than they did in 2017 and only 10% of surveyed companies plan to reduce their rate of hiring; the remainder plan to maintain current levels.

Much of the expected hiring comes in response to current or projected business success. Fifty-six percent of employers said they are hiring to support business growth, while 31% are hiring for a specific skill and only 13% are replacing lost staff.

The report found most companies in nearly every industry will see a jump in hiring in 2018, but some will be more aggressive than others. The most active industries for recruiting are architecture and engineering where 82% plan to hire, followed by IT and telecom companies and professional services firms at 75% and 71% respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, only 55% of retail companies and 41% of educational organizations plan to recruit more people next year.

Regionally, the Southwest will lead hiring with 75% of companies looking to hire more people in 2018. The West, Southeast, and Midwest by contrast have similar hiring expectations at 62%, 61% and 60%, respectively; however, only 57% of companies in the Northeast anticipate hiring increases.

Despite aggressive hiring plans, 42% of employers surveyed are concerned they won’t be able to find the talent they need. While 41% of companies struggle to finding entry-level hires, 33% of companies struggle with hiring middle management, 25% report challenges with senior management and 20% pointed to executive level positions as their most difficult hires.

The survey included more than 1,000 companies with 100 employees or more. It was conducted in October 2017.