More companies plan to hold off on hiring; 10% plan cuts

— -- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. employers plan to keep their payrolls stable at the end of the year while one in 10 expect to cut staff, according to a survey out Tuesday that points to further deterioration in the job market.

Sixty-three percent of hiring managers said they planned no change in the number of full-time, permanent employees at their companies in the October-December quarter.

That was up from 59% who said their staffing levels were unchanged in the July-September period, according to an online survey for USA TODAY and CareerBuilder.com by Harris Interactive.

One-tenth of those surveyed said they expect their company will cut workers at the end of the year after 14% cut jobs in the third quarter.

Previous surveys point to double-digit percentage job cuts during the first half of the year as well.

Twenty-three percent expected to add workers in the fourth quarter, down from 25% who beefed up their workforce in the third quarter.

The survey, conducted Aug. 21-Sept. 9, involved 3,061 hiring managers and human resource professionals. CareerBuilder.com is a job-finding site jointly owned by Tribune, McClatchy, Microsoft and USA TODAY parent Gannett.

The data are the latest to suggest the job market is weakening.

U.S. employers cut jobs for eight consecutive months through August, according to the Labor Department.

Last month, the unemployment rate jumped from 5.7% to 6.1%. That was up from 4.7% a year ago and the highest in five years.

Government data for September, which are expected to show further job cuts, will be released Friday Oct. 3.