A New Zealand survey measure of employment conditions and employees' confidence has managed to improve for the first time in two years, further supporting the speculation the the economy is recovering and fueling hopes that the worst of the job cuts may just be a thing of the past.

According to the Westpac McDermott Miller employment confidence survey for the December quarter, which was made public on Wednesday, the current conditions index managed to rise to
77.8 points from a low of 74.4 recorded for the three months up-to September.

In spite of the improvement, the survey has noted that the pessimists are still continuing to outnumber of optimists with regards to current employment conditions. A reading of over 100 is needed to show that optimists have outraced the pessimists.

Overall, the employment confidence index hiked by 1.3 points over the past quarter to 104.3 points, a figure which took the index back to the level that it was at almost a year back.

"What we find most encouraging in this quarter's survey is that for the first time in two years, confidence in current conditions has improved. That suggests that the worst of the job layoffs are behind us", said Westpac senior economist Donna Purdue.