Hamilton-area employers expect a healthy hiring climate for the first quarter of 2019.
The latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey reveals that 30 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter, while three per cent anticipate cutbacks.
“Another 63 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter,” said Tara Benson of Manpower’s Stoney Creek office. “The remaining four per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions.”
With seasonal variations removed from the data, Hamilton’s first-quarter net employment of 25 per cent is a five percentage point increase when compared with the previous quarterly outlook.
“It is also a 10 percentage point increase from the Outlook reported during the same time last year, indicating a strong hiring pace for the upcoming months,” added Benson.
According to ManpowerGroup Canada, national job growth slowed during the last quarter of 2018.
“While the (Canadian) unemployment rate fell to a 40-year low of 5.8 per cent, job growth fell short of expectations in October,” said Darlene Minatel, country manager for ManpowerGroup Canada. “Employers are having difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill open jobs, which, in turn, is driving up wages but companies are also trying to do more with less to stay competitive.”
Employees are being asked to do more work with less pay, according to Minatel, adding that an increasing number of employers are investing in automation to perform labour-intensive functions.