Atlantic hiring outlook improves heading into 2021

Employers in most Atlantic Canadian cities are expressing more optimism about their hiring expectations for the new year.

The latest employment outlook survey from Manpowergroup Canada generally has good news when it comes to expectations for the first quarter of 2021. The net employment outlook (NEO), which measures the difference between employers' intentions to hire staff and execute layoffs, is up two percentage points from the previous quarterly survey for Atlantic Canada, climbing to a seasonally adjusted figure of +6 per cent. That figure is down four percentage points from a year ago. All NEOS referenced in this story are seasonally adjusted.

The biggest jump came in Halifax, which sits atop the list of cities in the region in a tie with Moncton at +12 per cent. That's up 19 percentage points from the outlook for the fourth quarter of 2020, when Halifax was the only city in Atlantic Canada with a negative NEO at -7 per cent.

The NEO for Halifax was also up four percentage points year-over-year.

Hailey Coleman, market manager for Manpower in Halifax, believes this shift is driven by the industrial sector, particularly within warehouses and factories.

"I think it's a combination of restrictions being eased, but then also, companies preparing for another potential shutdown," Coleman said. "They're trying to either get ahead of the ball or just ensure they have the people in place to meet their increased production."

IMPACT OF COVID-19

A dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases elsewhere in Canada has also likely made Halifax attractive for companies looking to move forward with production plans.

"Some of the big corporations are actually moving lines in some of their divisions, some of their production, to the Nova Scotia area and Halifax in particular because they're a little bit less concerned about shutdowns than they would be say in the west coast or Ontario or Quebec," Coleman said.

The Cape Breton area hiring climate looks much more subdued by comparison, with the NEO declining seven percentage points from the previous quarterly outlook to +2 per cent. This result did not surprise Coleman.

"It's coming from a quarter that was particularly quite high in that, one, people are travelling to the Cape Breton area in the fall, and that would increase this year because of the Atlantic bubble and being encouraged to travel within your province," she said.

"It's coming from a good quarter into a not-so-great quarter."