One-half planning to boost staffing levels while one-third unchanged
With governments easing on COVID-19 safety restrictions, Canadian employers are anticipating a prosperous hiring climate for the second quarter of this year.
Overall, 49 per cent of employers plan to increase staffing levels in the second quarter of 2022, according to a ManpowerGroup survey. That compared to 50 per cent back in December.
Meanwhile, 13 per cent anticipate cutbacks (14 per cent in December), 36 per cent expect staffing levels to remain unchanged (35 per cent in December), and two per cent are unsure of hiring intentions, finds the survey of more than 1,000 employers across Canada.
“The Canadian job market continues to look significantly healthy for the coming quarter,” says Darlene Minatel, country manager of ManpowerGroup Canada. “From the dim outlooks reported in 2020, through the positive trajectory of hiring intentions over 2021 with the introduction of COVID-19 vaccination, employers are now expressing consistent confidence in the economy. There will be opportunities for job seekers across the country and across all sectors.”
A separate report found that 66 per cent of Canadian employers plan to hire extensively over the next 12 months.
Net employment outlooks
Canada’s Net Employment Outlook stands at +37 per cent for the second quarter, marking a two-percentage-point increase from the previous quarter and a 27-percentage-point increase from the second quarter of 2021, says Manpower.
The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting the percentage of employers expecting a decrease.
The employment outlook is positive across all industries:
- primary production (+56 per cent)
- IT, technology, telecom, communications and media (+51 per cent)
- wholesale and retail trade (+46 per cent)
- manufacturing (+39 per cent)
- banking, finance, insurance and real estate (+36 per cent)
- construction (+28 per cent)
- not for profit (+28 per cent)
- restaurants and hotels (+21 per cent)
- education, health, social work and government (+20 per cent)
- other industry and services (both +23 per cent)
Hiring prospects are also strong in the Atlantic Region (+40 per cent), Northern territories (+65 per cent), Ontario (+39 per cent) and Western Canada (+38 per cent). Employment outlook also remain strong in Quebec (+28 per cent) and the Prairie Region (+28 per cent) even though both will worsen by -10 per cent and -6 per cent, respectively, says Manpower.
Canadian employment climbed by 337,000 in February, easily offsetting losses seen in January, according to Statistics Canada.
Despite social disruptions, the labour market recovered more quickly than expected in February, says Jim Mitchell, president of recruiting firm LHH.
“As economies reopen and restrictions lifted across provinces and territories, we saw substantial growth in industries like accommodation and food services and information, culture and recreation. As we emerge from the pandemic, we’ve also seen a continued reduction in overall layoffs this month. Employers across the country are looking to retain talent, with employment rates returning to pre-COVID levels for the first time.”
