Finally, some news employers and employees can appreciate: Indications are that layoffs may be slowing.

A new survey suggests companies that haven’t already laid off employees aren’t likely to do so in the near future.

Over the next 12 months, 26% of companies plan to increase cost-cutting measures (such as layoffs, hiring freezes and pay reductions), according to a recent Watson Wyatt survey. That’s still a high number, but much lower than the 51% who gave the same answer in February.

The companies that will face the most difficulty in the next year: those that have already had to make cutbacks. For example, 41% of respondents said their company has recently downsized and will most likely do so again. But only 5% said they’ll be cutting staff and haven’t done so already.

Similarly, 29% of companies have frozen hiring and will continue to do so, while only 4% haven’t yet but plan to start soon.

There’s also some good news for employees at companies that have cut salaries: Of those employers, 31% plan to reinstate them by the end of the year. Another 37% will reinstate salaries at the next merit pay increase.

Tags: job outlook, Watson Wyatt