There’s lots of good news for workers as well as for those seeking work in a new survey from Duke University and CFO Magazine: Companies are hiring more full-time workers and outsourcing less. Meanwhile, wages are expected to rise more 3 percent.

Technology sector hiring and raises are expected to be “strongest” along with services and consulting, healthcare and construction, the survey says.

Despite a strong dollar creating a drag on U.S. exports, companies are expecting to expand payrolls by 2.4 percent, the latest quarterly survey found.

The Duke findings are similar to those in the quarterly American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) survey last week that said 21 percent of firms survey planned to “hire immediately” which was “in line” to results from the previous quarter.

Less out-sourcing, temp hiring; more FTE jobs

While the forecast growth in hiring in the Duke/CFO survey is the same as in the March survey and is half a point under the December forecast, it is substantially better than the 1.9 percent forecast in June of last year.

Plus, there’s more emphasis on full-time employee (FTE) jobs.

Boosting the outlook for U.S. workers is that companies plan to increase outsourcing by a mere 1.1 percent. That’s well under the 3-percent-plus rate in each of the past three surveys.

Plus, the chances of getting full-time work are better. Companies plan to increase temporary hiring by half a percent. There was a reduction in temp hiring forecast in March, but in the previous two surveys temp hiring had been predicted to grow at a much higher rate.

Workers hoping for raises are seeing those odds improving as the nation’s unemployment rate remains well below the 2009 recession. Demand for more workers means higher pay.

“Wage growth expectations the past few quarters have been the highest in the survey since 2007,” said John Graham, the finance professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business who directs the survey. “In fact, CFOs indicate that difficulty in hiring and retaining qualified employees is a top three concern, especially in industries like tech and health care.”

Troubled sectors

Not all the job news is good, however.

Corporate executives told Duke and CFO Magazine that employment is expected to drop in the finance and energy sectors.

For example, Charlotte-based Bank of America recently cut jobs in its mortgage unit and international finance giant HBC is planning to cut 10 percent of its work force.

“The downward trend in the finance industry will continue into next year, as financial institutions continue to adapt to new regulations and restrictions,” Graham said.

In the oil patch and related sectors, jobs will shrivel under the pressure of falling oil prices,Graham added. “The U.S. energy bubble also will continue to deflate due to the recent fall in the price of oil,” he said.

Overall, the survey found that executives’ confidence in the economy declined a bit to 63 on a scale of 100 from 65 in the most recent survey. Still, Duke noted, the score is the third highest since 2007.

The survey is based on data gathered through June 7.

(Watch a video recap of the survey’s results at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf18lAloQl8)

​For a look at the statistics, visit: http://www.cfosurvey.org/2015q2/Q2-2015-US-KeyNumbers.pdf