New Survey: Twice as Many Companies Expected to Increase Hiring Compared to One Year Ago

• Hiring Decision-Makers Express Optimism for Year Ahead

Hiring decision-makers in Canada report a positive hiring forecast and are twice as likely to say they expect to increase their employee count in the first half of 2021 compared to 2020, according to a new survey released today.

The survey from The Harris Poll, commissioned by Express Employment Professionals, found 31% of hiring decision-makers expect their company to increase hiring in the year ahead, double the amount from this time last year (16%). Only 10% anticipate a decrease in employee count, while 55% expect there will be no change.

Express experts report that an increase in hiring became noticeable in the second half of 2020, and in many markets, hiring in the second half of 2020 exceed the best months from the year before. They expect an increase in hiring to continue in the first half of 2021.

Brent Pollington, an Express franchise owner in Vancouver, British Columbia, reports that an increase in hiring became noticeable in the second half of 2020.

"There was a significant increase in Q3 and especially in Q4, and in fact, our Q4 numbers in 2020 surpassed our 2019 Q4," Pollington said. "I believe the reason for the increase was businesses feeling the worst of the recession was behind us, and although the road ahead is still quite uncertain, the businesses who survived understand they need to get back to growing and coming out of the recession stronger."

With plans for vaccination rollouts across the country, many companies are cautiously optimistic. Even in areas where reported case numbers continue to rise, the general feeling among employers is that consumer demand will remain high and drive positive job numbers.

While some industries, such as hospitality and food services, continue to be hard hit, many sectors are expected to see hiring gains, particularly in manufacturing, transportation, sales, logistics, and accounting.

"The trend line of hiring at the end of 2020 is very encouraging for economic recovery as we kick off 2021," Express CEO Bill Stoller said. "It's the good news and hope we all need to begin the new year with optimism as the economy continues to move in the right direction, drastically different from where we were early last year."

Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Nov. 16 and Dec. 7, 2020, among 506 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 1 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.

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If you would like to arrange an interview with Brent Pollington, call (604) 638-6980.

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About Express Employment Professionals

Express Employment Professionals is in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Providing localized staffing solutions to our community, Express employed 552,000 people across North America in 2019.

The Downtown Vancouver Express office is located at 555 W Hastings St #975, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6, Canada within the Harbour Centre and serves the all of Vancouver, BC. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit https://expresspros.com/VancouverDowntownBC/ or call (604) 638-6980.