Employers still upbeat on hiring: Manpower

One in 10 employers in Saskatoon plans to hire in the first quarter of 2015.

“We are pretty well on pace with last year,” said Carman Gosselin of Manpower, which released its latest Employment Outlook Survey on Tuesday.

The survey found Saskatoon and area employers were upbeat when it came to hiring for the first quarter of 2015.

“Survey data reveals that 10 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (January to March), while none anticipate cutbacks, Gosselin said.

About 87 per cent of employers plan to maintain current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter, while three per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions.

Seasonally adjusted, Saskatoon’s first quarter net employment outlook of 17 per cent is an increase of eight percentage points compared to the previous quarterly outlook, Gosselin said.

“It is also on par with the outlook reported during the same time last year. Yet, the outlook indicates a favourable hiring pace for the upcoming months.”

Regina area employers expect to see a modest pace of hiring in the first quarter of 2015, according to the survey.

The report marks a slight improvement in the hiring climate from the previous outlook survey, but down from this time last year, the survey said.

“Survey data reveals that 10 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (January to March), while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks,” Gosselin said.

The survey doesn’t break down business sectors by city.

But across Western Canada, mining (15 per cent), transportation/public utilities (15 per cent), finance (11 per cent) and public administration (14 per cent) all plan to add jobs while construction will likely lose positions.

The recent slide in oil prices may also have an impact on jobs, Gosselin said.

“I think it probably will (have an impact) in markets like Fort McMurray — the ones that carry a heavy cost for extraction,” he said. “The Estevan and North Dakota oil is quite sweet (cheaper to extract) so I don’t think there will be much of a hit there.”

Nationally, Canadian employers expect a fair hiring climate for job seekers in the first quarter of 2015, with employers in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors reporting the strongest job prospects.

With seasonal variations removed from the data, the net employment outlook of 10 per cent is a two percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter, and a one percentage point decrease compared to the survey reported during the same time last year.

The survey of more than 1,900 employers across Canada reveals that 11 per cent plan to increase their staffing levels in the first quarter of 2015, while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks. Of the employers surveyed, 79 per cent expect their current staffing levels to remain unchanged and three per cent are unsure about their hiring intentions for the upcoming quarter.

Large organizations (250plus employees) are most optimistic about hiring plans for the upcoming quarter, with a seasonally adjusted 16 per cent planning to hire. Small firms (1-9 employees) expect a flat hiring pace.

“We are seeing some cautious, though positive, signs in the labour market in Canada, with employers expecting a fair hiring pace for the coming quarter,” said Michelle Dunnill, Manpower area manager for Toronto, Mississauga and Markham. “The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly six years this fall. However, we must be cautious and remember that a number of citizens are discouraged and have abandoned finding full-time work, and are getting by on part-time work and shortterm contracts.”