Eight out of ten local firms anticipate that the employment market will recover to pre-pandemic levels this year and have plans to take on recent university graduates among their new hires.

The findings were included in survey results shared on Tuesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted on 302 of the nation's top one thousand companies by sales.

Seventy-nine-point-eight percent of respondents said the number of hires this year will be restored to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic or even rise higher.

The finding is in line with recent Statistics Korea data which showed an on-year increase of over one million in the number of employed people in January and February.

Over 80 percent of firms also plan to include university graduates among their new recruits this year. By field, administration and office work came just ahead of manufacturing and engineering, followed by sales, research and development, and information and communications technology.

A chamber of commerce official said the labor market, after contracting amid the pandemic, is showing signs of improvement as conglomerates are moving to hire more workers.

However, the official said any dramatic improvement is unlikely due to expanding uncertainties such as geopolitical risks and supply chain concerns.