Canadian employers plan to temper hiring for the October to December period. The latest Manpower Survey on employment prospects also suggests that the construction industry forecasts are the highest.
Employers are likely to be cautious during the fourth quarter of the year. The Manpower Survey published last week revealed a net job forecast of 10%. The result is stable if we compare it with the preceding quarter. Out of 1900 employers located in the different Canadian provinces, 16% plan to increase their workforce between October and December 2013, while 8% plan to reduce them. More particularly, 74% do not envisage any change while 2% did not express their intentions for this period.
Non-residential construction in good shape.
Hiring prospects seem to be the most sustained in construction, especially in the non-residential field, with net employment forecasts of 21%. This represents an increase of four points compared to the result published for the preceding quarter as well as an increase of eight points compared to last year. Other sectors of activity show above average net employment forecasts such as in transport and public services (14%), finance, insurance and real estate (14%), manufacturing of durable goods (11%) and services (11%). Another interesting result is that found in the mining industry. A major growth avenue in Canada, the sector displays a net employment forecast of 7%, a reduction of five percentage points compared to the preceding quarter and a drop of ten points compared to last year. Finally, employers for public and private education are more careful since the net employment forecast amounts to 4% in this sector, a decrease of four points compared to the preceding quarter and three points compared to last year.
Regional disparities
Although the results found seem positive for all Canadian provinces, the pace of hiring is more or less depending on the region. The climate appears most favourable in the West with a net employment forecast of 16%. They are followed by the Atlantic Provinces (11%) and Ontario (9%). Quebec employers show a more moderate forecast for net employment of 4%.