The recently published Robert Half Professional Employment Report shows that 15% of Canadian executives plan to hire full-time employees during Q2 2011.
Two percent of executives plan to make cutbacks, however, for a net increase of 13%, or six points higher than Q1 2011. The results differ by sector, with a net 38% of executives in the business services sector planning to increase personnel levels, vs. 32% for construction. The main increases are in sales and business development, accounting and finance, human resources and IT. No cuts are planned in some sectors (finance, insurance, real estate, retail sales and manufacturing). Some 10% of executives in wholesaling, on the other hand, are considering cuts over the next three months.
Forty-one per cent of respondents are also concerned about seeing their top professionals leave for other firms during the year.
The survey of 1,000 Canadian executives also reveals that 87% are at least somewhat confident about their companies’ growth prospects over the next three months.