Survey highlights several drivers behind 'positive sentiments' among hiring managers
Canadian companies are entering 2025 with a positive hiring outlook, according to a recent report.
Overall, 71% of employers are entering the year with a positive feeling about their hiring outlook, reports Express Employment Professionals.
Specifically, 39% are feeling optimistic, 36% are feeling confident, and 35% are feeling hopeful. This is in line with the first half of 2024, when 70% of companies felt positive about their hiring outlook.
“The positive sentiments among hiring managers highlight a resilient and forward-thinking workforce,” says Bill Stoller, Express Employment International CEO.
“Businesses are strategically positioning themselves for growth, addressing immediate needs like increased workloads and turnover, while also preparing for future challenges such as AI and cybersecurity. The outlook for 2025 is promising, driven by a workforce ready to innovate and adapt.”
Hiring activity across Canada is poised to remain strong in early 2025, according to a previous Robert Half report.
“The positive outlook seems to stem from a combination of factors including market conditions, perceptions of continued growth, and the potential for lowering interest rates, among other things,” adds Brent Pollington, an Express franchise owner in Vancouver.
Why do employers need to hire more staff?
More than half of Canadian companies (51%) also report plans to increase their employee count in the first half of 2025, according to the Express-Harris Poll survey of 505 hiring decision-makers in November 2024.
The number is about the same as was recorded in the first half of 2024 (49%).
The primary drivers for increasing headcount include:
-
managing increased volumes of work (58%)
-
filling newly created positions (45%)
-
addressing employee turnover (38%)
-
getting expertise in new areas (26%)
-
handling expansion into other categories or markets (26%)
Also, there has been a significant rise in the number of companies who are increasing their employee count to manage work caused by artificial intelligence (AI) concerns, from 10% in the first half of 2024 to 18% now.
Meanwhile, 41% plan to keep their headcount the same, and only 8% plan to decrease their workforce.
Costs of labour in Canada
Canadian businesses entered the final quarter of 2024 with mixed sentiments, as optimism about the year 2025 balanced against challenges related to costs and labour.
And while businesses are optimistic, they are still dealing with a number of issues, says Pollington.
“The cost per employee for businesses has drastically increased,” he says. “Worker expectations, market factors, minimum wage hikes, increased demands for benefits and perks, retention strategies, turnover costs, and the time and resources needed to train new employees have all driven these costs higher.”
“Companies are also dealing with the lack of skilled workers in the market which has forced them to focus more on training and development, as well as long-term succession planning,” added Pollington. “Employers are spending significant time and energy solving these issues.”
