Hiring for construction jobs may be on the rise this year, after a severe downturn in the industry in 2010, and Illinois may be among the states where hiring is likely to improve.

A new study released Monday showed that 27 percent of construction firms nationally said they planned to add staff this year, while 20 percent plan layoffs.

A year ago, 55 percent of companies laid off employees while only 20 percent hired new workers, according to the report from the Associated General Contractors of America and Navigant.

In Illinois, where 58 percent of firms said they paid off employees in 2010, only 12 percent said they planned layoffs this year. Meanwhile, 29 percent of firms said they planned to add to their workforces and 59 percent of survey respondents said they planned no change or didn’t know their plans.

Nationally, the construction unemployment rate has been at, or topped, 20 percent for much of the past year.

“While there are some promising, and positive, signs in the outlook, the bottom line is 2011 will not be an easy year for most firms,” said Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer, during a conference call. “However, it will be better than last year.