The Randstad Manufacturing Employee Confidence Index climbed 3.7 points to 54.6 in the fourth quarter of 2012, its highest point since the first quarter of 2007.

“Companies are starting to invest again and in turn, job creation is following,” said Phyllis Finley, executive vice president at Randstad US. “Some of the sectors that have been hiring heavily include automotive, supply chain and advanced manufacturing. Technical and skilled employees within the manufacturing sector are also in high demand.”

Twenty-two percent of manufacturing workers believe there are more jobs available, up nine percentage points from 13 percent in the third quarter. However, the percentage of manufacturing workers who are confident in their ability to find a new job slipped to 45 percent from 48 percent in the previous quarter.

Twenty-eight percent of manufacturing workers believe the economy is getting stronger, up from 22 percent the third quarter, but 33 percent of workers say the economy is getting weaker, down four percentage points from the previous quarter.

The index is based on an online survey of 152 U.S. manufacturing workers conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad.