A Foxconn recruiter may have inadvertently let slip that the next-generation iPhone could be with us as early as June. During a TV interview, the Foxconn employee said the Chinese production plant was hiring an additional 18,000 workers “for the fifth-generation phone”.

Foxconn manufactures Apple’s iPhones and iPads and recently received a visit from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

How much of this was simply a man getting carried away in front of a camera it’s difficult to say. However, he went on to say specifically that he expected the next iPhone to be out in June. June certainly fits with Apple’s previous iPhone release dates, bar the iPhone 4S that came out only in October 2011.

Sadly the Foxconn employee didn’t elaborate on what we might expect from the new iPhone, but then as a recruiter he wouldn’t be privy to such information. Whether his access means his prediction of a summer arrival proves true, we’ll have to wait and see.

Of course this isn't the first time a Foxconn employee has made claims to the iPhone 5's arrival. Earlier this year there were murmurings that production on the iPhone 5 had already begun, which interestingly also hinted at a June or July release date.

Do you think we could be seeing a new iPhone as early as June? Let us know your thoughts.