The Leading Indicator of Employment (IAEmp) calculated by the Brazilian Institute of Economics (FGV/IBRE) increased 2.1% in December compared with the previous month, considering data free of seasonal influences. With the result, the indicator returns to the level of last June (86.9 points) and signals the return of a hiring pace more like the one witnessed in the first half of 2013 - although it still shows a slowdown compared to the same period of last year.The factors that most positively contributed to IAEmp's increase were the indicators that measure the expectations of entrepreneurs in relation to business trends, in the Survey of Services, and the one which measures the level of satisfaction with the current situation of businesses, in the Industry Survey - with changes of 5.6% and 2.5%, respectively.The increase observed by IAEmp in November to December indicates that there may be a recovery in job creations in the coming months. The expectations are good concerning an increase in hiring, says IBRE's economist, Fernando Holanda Barbosa Filho. However, he recommends precaution. It all seems positive, it seems that there will be an increase in hiring in the coming months, but this may again elude, such as in previous years. This upward trend can be reversed, he said, in an article on Época Negócios online magazine.IAEmp is composed of a combination of series extracted from the Industry, Services and Consumer Surveys, and is capable of predicting the direction of the labor market in the country.Please click here and read the full analysis on IBRE's website (in Portuguese).