Steady hiring predicted for St. Catharines

As Niagara’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in August, a new survey suggest the trend could continue in the months to come for St. Catharines.

Statistics Canada released its latest Labour Force Survey results this week, showing Niagara unemployment rate at 6.5 per cent in August, down from 6.6 per cent a month earlier and 7.2 per cent in June.

The local rate, however, remains higher than Hamilton’s 4.6 per cent unemployment rate, or the 6.4 per cent rate reported for Toronto.

And a ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, published Tuesday, predicts a steady hiring climate to continue for the remainder of the year for St. Catharines, said Erica Melarangeli from Manpower’s St. Catharines office.

Although the survey of local employers shows that 13 per cent anticipate cutbacks while 10 per cent plan to hire, Melarangeli said when seasonal variations are removed from the data, St. Catharines’ fourth quarter should have “an upbeat hiring pace for the upcoming months.”

At the same time, she said 77 per cent of employers plan to maintain their existing staff levels, “and that’s always a good thing for St. Catharines.”

“We’re not going to see any drastic, knee-jerk reaction in any of the companies.”

Melarangeli said locally, Manpower Group is “starting to see an up-tick” in service industry jobs as well as manufacturing.

While there’s a widespread skills shortage across the province, she said factors such as the pending minimum wage increase could still have an impact on the data in the months to come.

The survey predictions weren’t as positive in Niagara Falls in the months to come, where she described it as a “cloudy hiring” forecast.

“Only three per cent plan to hire, and 17 per cent anticipate cutbacks,” she said.

While seasonal employers have been removed from the statistics, Melarangeli said many Niagara Falls employers are still impacted by the agricultural and tourist season.

Nevertheless, she pointed out that 80 per cent plant to retain current staffing levels.

The Labour Force Survey also reported the national unemployment rate at 6.2 per cent in August, while Ontario’s rate was at 5.7 per cent.

THE CANADIAN PRESS The Statistics Canada offiices are shown in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. Quebec’s anglophone population is declining, rather than booming, Statistics Canada said Thursday as the agency officially corrected a census finding that stoked political fires in...