Twelve percent of employers plan to bring in temporary or contract employees in the second half of this year, up from 9 percent who said the same a year ago, according to a survey released last week by CareerBuilder. Thirty-five percent plan to hire full-time, permanent employees, up from 28 percent a year ago.

Overall, nearly half of employers (47 percent) plan to hire new employees — full-time, part-time and contingent — in the second half of 2011, up from 41 percent in 2010.

Fifty percent of employers reported there is a shortage of skills within their organization, up from 48 percent last year. The biggest shortages were reported in the areas of information technology, customer service and communications. 

Customer service is the top job type for hiring, with 23 percent of employers saying they will hire for this position, followed by information technology (21 percent) and sales (20 percent).

The CareerBuilder survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive, included more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals.