Government gridlock not killing jobs.

• Position: YOU LIFE

The political debate has raged for months concerning what is stifling employment in the U.S. Now, a Workforce Planning Survey of executives at 100 Global 1000 companies shows that political gridlock and indecision have relatively little effect on employment decisions compared to economic uncertainty.

In fact, in the survey--which was commissioned by Yoh, a provider of talent and outsourcing services, and conducted by Amplitude Research--nine percent of respondents maintain that political uncertainty will discourage them from adding personnel in 2012, while 61% report that economic uncertainty represents the greatest obstacle to increased hiring in the new year. Twenty-four percent state that lack of demand for products or services is the greatest impediment to more hiring.

"While it might be politically expedient to reduce employment to sound bites during the election season, these findings suggest that political uncertainty and gridlock have little to do with driving the employment process," says Lori Schultz, president of Yoh. "In reality, customer demand still trumps broader policy and political considerations."

While the survey found that political uncertainty has little to do with hiring plans, it also uncovered a number of troubling realities that actually do dampen employment. Many of these factors revolve around the uncertainty of a company's own hiring practices and could serve to delay a rebound in hiring as the economy heals and opportunities present themselves.

"The evidence...