Dice Holdings, Inc. performed a survey of 1,000 customers across various industries, and found a very gloomy outlook for the next six months:

Two-thirds of U.S. employers and recruiters plan to scale back hiring plans over the next six months, according to a new survey. One-third of companies believe that layoffs are likely.

Wow.  That doesn’t sound good.  So when will the downturn end?

A plurality of respondents (44%) say they are not sure and are waiting to see how the economy evolves. Of those willing to take a calendar guess, the largest percentage, 33 percent, are expecting hiring to normalize in the second half of 2009.

Considering that most companies are scaling back on hiring, there might still be a small opportunity for low-cost, highly effective productivity tools for the unfortunate souls left behind after layoffs.  Those organizations that do have to lay off employees will be looking to squeeze every last drop of blood from their remaining turnips, and they’d be likely to invest in low-cost software/hardware that has an immediate return on investment.

Filed under: General