Canada Employed

Canadian employers are ringing in the new year with an optimistic hiring outlook according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

Most Canadian hiring managers (70%) report a positive hiring outlook for the first half of 2024, citing feelings of optimism (39%), confidence (34%) and hopefulness (32%).

Nearly half of companies (49%) plan to increase their number of employees in the first half of this year, in line with the same period last year (49%), but up from the first half of 2022 (44%).

Companies that anticipate increasing their head count in the first half of 2024 say it is needed to manage increased volumes of work (54%), fill newly created positions (43%), fill positions that are open due to employee turnover (32%), to get expertise in new areas (26%) and handle expansion into other categories or markets (26%).

Conversely, 2 in 5 companies (42%) do not plan to change their employee count, and less than 1 in 10 companies (7%) plan to reduce their number of employees in the first half of this year.

Of companies not planning to hire or planning to reduce their employee count in 2024, the most common reasons cited include: they do not feel they need to hire more employees (28%), they do not have the budget this year (25%) or they cannot afford to hire right now (22%). Small businesses (two to nine employees) are much more likely than large companies (100+ employees) to report they cannot afford to hire right now (34% vs. 14% respectively). More than half of companies (57%) report that while they need more employees to manage workload, they lack the capacity to do so.

Another reason why some companies may not be changing their head count is the desire to train or promote from within. In fact, more than two-thirds of companies (68%) say they would prefer to reskill current employees for new roles than hire brand new ones.

“The level of hiring optimism in Canada is a welcome start to the new year, especially given the volatility of the past few years,” said Bill Stoller, Express Employment International CEO. “The next piece of the puzzle is for businesses, schools, and the government to work together to create qualified applicants through training and hands-on-opportunities. Investing in solving this shortcoming will go a long way toward building a well-rounded workforce and economy.”

The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Oct. 31 and Nov. 10, 2023, among 504 Canadian hiring decision-makers. For full survey methodology, please contact Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.

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 579,000 people globally in 2022 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.