According to research from ExecuNet, recruiter confidence is on the rise. ExecuNet finds 20% of executive recruiters plan to add executive-level positions and almost 60% will “trade-up” their management strength by recruiting replacements for existing roles over the next six months, while only 1% plan on eliminating executive positions during this same period.  Although only a slight gain (2 points) from the December numbers, the job market itself shows that, not only in executive positions, recruiters are ready to increase their efforts or have already begun to find talent for their organizations.

But even as the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that the economy added 243,000 jobs in January and the economy grew by 1.6 million jobs in 2011, and the unemployment rate continues to drop (currently 8.3%), global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports a 28% surge in job cuts in January. However, a jump in job cuts is not unexpected given the time of year, and employers remain worried about the scarcity of talent available.

According to Right Management, 31% of organizations lack high-potential leaders, while 23% of organizations indicate a shortage of talent on all levels. In fact, this year’s survey finds most challenges HR faced a year ago have increased.

Regardless of how you interpret this data, good or bad, the numbers suggest a very challenging year for recruiters.