Canada’s jobs market for the final months of 2010 looks the brightest it has in almost two years, according to a quarterly survey released Tuesday.
Staffing agency Manpower’s latest quarterly survey on job prospects showed 21% of the country’s employers plan to expand staff levels in the fourth quarter, seven per cent expect to reduce, 70% anticipate no changes and two per cent are unsure.
The overall outlook is a positive score of 15%, which is essentially the proportion planning to hire minus those planning layoffs, adjusted for seasonal variations.
It’s up four points from the outlook going into the current third quarter, and a 10-point jump from last year’s fourth quarter. It’s Manpower’s strongest quarterly outlook since it hit 16% going into the first quarter of 2009.
The mining sector came out as the strongest area for short-term job prospects, with a positive hiring outlook of 25%. That was followed by manufacturing in durable goods with an outlook of 21%, that sector’s strongest showing in 10 years.
Regionally, the most active hiring environments are expected to be in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada, each with a net outlook of 17%. Ontario is expected to have a "respectable" hiring climate with a positive score of 14%, and Quebec’s job market for the fourth quarter is "moderate" with an outlook of 8%.
One expert said it’s mining that is largely responsible for bringing the bright hiring outlook on Canada’s east and west coasts. He also noted that the recharged automotive industry, concentrated in Ontario, is big part of why there’s ample hiring in the manufacturing sector.
Related Stories
