Canadian exporters see hope but slow recovery

* Much fewer firms see new orders falling

* Strong C$ a hindrance to recovery

* One-quarter plan to shed jobs in next 3 months

OTTAWA, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Canadian manufacturers and exporters believe the worst of the recession is over but see a strong currency and financing difficulties hampering a full-fledged recovery, a survey showed on Thursday.

Businesses reported a sharp improvement in the value of orders, compared with three months earlier, according to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters' (CME) survey of 727 companies from Oct. 13-27.

Only 38 percent said current orders have fallen in value, down from 50 percent in September. Thirty-five said orders are the same and 27 percent said they have increased -- both slight improvements over the previous month.

Responses to questions on new orders, inventories, hiring intentions and financing also yielded responses showing marginal improvements, suggesting "green shoots may be sprouting in the economy," the CME said.

But there are some substantial speed bumps on the path to recovery, warned Jayson Myers, president and chief executive of CME. The number one difficulty is the Canadian dollar's dramatic rise against the U.S. dollar, which has raised alarm bells at the Bank of Canada and Department of Finance.

"The looming challenges facing manufacturers and exporters, namely a volatile currency, is impacting the outlook for employment," he said.

"The manufacturing sector has lost more than 200,000 jobs so far this year and still, almost one-quarter (of companies) are still planning to shed jobs in the next three months."

Statistics Canada will release employment data for October on Friday at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) [ID:nN04446691] (Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)