Nearly half (42%) of company leaders reported they have already hired new staff or plan to do so in the third quarter, according to a national hiring trends survey conducted by Express Employment Professionals.

“We’re seeing employers’ confidence levels increase slightly,” said Express CEO Robert Funk. “Not only do they plan to hire new employees, but some are also considering reinstating previous pay and/or raises and lifting hiring freezes.”

Sixty-seven percent of respondents plan to hire one to three people across all business sectors during the third quarter.

Companies report increasing difficulty finding talent. Half of the respondents believe it is “somewhat difficult” to “very difficult” to recruit and fill positions.

Staffing firms, employee referrals and online job boards remain the top three recruiting resources for companies, according to the survey.

Express invited more than 17,000 current and former clients across the U.S. and Canada to participate in the survey.