UPDATE 1-Asia executive hiring better but still slow -Hudson

(Adds quotes, details of Hudson closing Japan operation)

By Susan Fenton

HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Job prospects for executives in Asia have improved in the past three months as employers expect business to pick up later in the year, though they are still cautious about adding headcount, a quarterly survey showed on Thursday.

Hiring expectations in Singapore rose in the past three months for the first time since early 2007 and in Hong Kong increased for the first time since early last year.

Still, only 26 percent of Singapore employers plan to take on staff in the next three months, up from 20 percent last quarter, and in Hong Kong just 22 percent expect to be recruiting, up from 14 percent.

In China, only 27 percent of respondents said they would be hiring, down slightly from 30 percent in the previous quarter. However, recent economic data suggest the world's third-biggest economy is accelerating and 34 percent of companies in the manufacturing and industrial sector aim to take on staff this quarter, up from 21 percent last quarter.

The survey previously covered Japan but Hudson, part of Chicago-based Chicago-based Hudson Highland Group Inc (HHGP.O), said it closed its Japan operation in April and would no longer include the country in its quarterly surveys.

"We're fairly bearish about Japan," Hudson's Asia chief executive Mike Game told Reuters. "The economy looks like it's going to be really challenging in the medium- to long-term and it's a small, niche market for international executive search firms."

Hudson laid off 45 staff in Japan when it closed its operation and wants to focus instead on China.

"We've seen a strong rebound in hiring in Asia in the second quarter, albeit off a very low base," he said. A number Asian of companies that froze posts last September and October after Lehman Brothers' collapse, were now filling them.

CHINA TURNAROUND

Hong Kong and Singapore remain mired in recession as exports have collapsed this year in the face of weak Western demand, while investment banks have cut jobs as part of global headcount reductions.

However, in the latest survey, Hong Kong's banking and financial sector was more optimistic than the city's other industries, with 29 percent of companies surveyed in the sector saying they would be hiring, up from 12 percent in the second quarter. Much of the recruitment will be for back and middle office roles, Hudson said.

Across sectors, only 12 percent of Hong Kong companies plan to cut headcount this quarter, down sharply from 22 percent last quarter.

Hiring expectations in Singapore improved across sectors, apart from a slight dip in the media, public relations and advertising industries.