A new survey suggests fewer Canadian employers expect to add more permanent full-time jobs in the second half of 2012 than they did in last year’s poll.
The Harris Interactive survey found that 40% of hiring managers said they were planning to hire new permanent, full-time employees by the end of the year compared with 43% in the second half of 2011.
The countrywide survey was conducted between May 14 and June 4 on behalf of website CareerBuilder Canada.
Results from among 292 hiring managers and human resource professional contacted found that in addition to the 40% who expected to add high full-time employees, 22% planned to add part-time workers and 26% contract or temporary employees. Some 17% said they would take on interns.
The survey found the major fields in which businesses plan to hire first are those directly impacting and supporting revenue and innovation.
These include information technology (21%), customer service (21%) administrative (21%), sales (15%), accounting/finance (12%), business development (8%) and marketing (8%).
Meanwhile, increasing numbers of employers report they have created entirely new job functions within their organizations to respond to evolving business demands over the last five years.
Among then, positions tied to storing and managing data (25%), social media (20%), financial regulation (18%), cyber security (12%, green energy and the environment (10%) and global relations (9%).
Harris Interactive, which also surveyed 552 full-time Canadian workers 18 years of age and older, found employees were feeling better about job prospects. In fact, three in 10 stated they were likely to leave their current jobs in the next 12 months.
The competition for talent was also reflected in employer responses, with 44% acknowledging they were concerned about losing valued workers. More than a quarter of employers – 27% – said they had lost some of their top talent in the second quarter of 2012.
