1-in-4 employers are planning to hire new workers in the coming months. That is just one of the positive findings of the latest business sentiment survey conducted by the Irish Business and Employers Federation (IBEC).

The figures also show that business confidence improved strongly in the first 3 months of 2013. The majority of indicators climbed to their highest levels since the survey started 4 years ago.

Key trends highlighted in the survey include:

• CEOs' perceptions of the overall business environment rose to a series-high in Q1. The current conditions index rose to -6 from -14 the previous quarter and the forward-looking index increased to -4 from -13. This is the first time since the survey began that managers' perceptions of the business environment have been close to neutral.
• Managers' confidence in their own businesses improved to a new series high, with sentiment for current business at +19, up from +15 in the previous quarter, and confidence in the three-month outlook rising sharply to +23 from +10 at the end of 2012.
• The employee numbers index is now for the first time in the history of the series in the positive, reaching a high of +4, up from -2 in the previous quarter. One in four managers indicated that they would increase employee numbers in the coming quarter, up from one in five at the end of 2012.

The body said back in January that that 2013 is likely to be "the turning point" for the domestic economy as businesses reinvest in their operations and consumers start to see income increases.

The group said that as Irish households gain the same level of confidence in Irish prospects as outside investors recovery will gain momentum and that "2013 will see employment in the private sector begin to grow again".

Fergal O'Brien is Chief Economist with IBEC. He says a number of things now need to happen for business to really thrive.

Read the full report here