Canada Employed

Despite some mixed signs from the Canadian economy in recent months, the hiring outlook of companies is at the highest rate in years, according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

Three quarters of Canadian hiring decision-makers (73%) feel positively about the hiring outlook for the second half of this year. This is the highest rate in recent years, increasing from 69% in the second half of 2022 and 65% in the second half of 2021.

Half of the companies surveyed (51%) plan to increase their employee count for the second half of 2023, the highest level in years (jumping from 45% in 2022, 31% in 2021 and 25% in 2020). Only a few (6%) plan to reduce their workforce in the second half of the year, while the remainder (41%) expect no change in employee count.

Among companies who plan to increase their employee count, the main drivers include increasing volume of work (49%), filling positions open due to employee turnover (47%), filling newly created positions (41%), getting expertise in new areas (27%) and company expansion into new categories or markets (26%).

For companies that don’t plan to hire additional employees this year, the main reasons include not needing more employees (32%), not being able to afford to hire right now (21%), waiting to see if the workload will level out before hiring (19%) and waiting until the economy returns to normal before hiring more people (19%).

The upward trend in hiring should be encouraging news for Canadian job seekers given that a recent Express study found that 2 in 5 are actively looking for a new job right now (39%), while 61% browse job opportunities occasionally.

“Despite challenging global economic conditions, it’s encouraging to see employers are confident enough in their financial situations to bring on additional staff,” Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. “If the pattern holds, the beginning of 2024 will bring about much cause for celebration for both companies and job seekers.”

The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between June 8 and June 22, 2023, among 507 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 4.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

The Job Seeker Survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals from June 13 and June 26, 2023, among 507 adults ages 18 and older who are employed or not employed but looking for work and looking for a new job. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 5.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Ana Curic at (613) 858-2622 or email Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.