Charlottetown area employers expect a positive hiring climate for the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
“Survey data reveals that 20 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (October to December), while 20 per cent anticipate cutbacks,” stated Mindy Stoltz of Manpower’s Saint John office. Another 60 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter.
“With seasonal variations removed from the data, Charlottetown’s fourth quarter Net Employment Outlook of 12 per cent is an 11-percentage-point decrease when compared to the previous quarterly outlook,” said Stoltz. “It is also an increase of five percentage points from the outlook reported during the same time last year, indicating a hopeful hiring pace for the upcoming months.”
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter.
Across Canada, the survey indicates slow but steady gains in employment over the next three months.
"With the unemployment rate hovering near 40-year lows, competition for talent is heating up across the country," said Darlene Minatel, country manager for ManpowerGroup Canada. "Skilled trades and bilingual candidates are especially in demand, causing upward pressure on wages and an increase in permanent full-time hiring as the need to improve retention becomes more urgent."
With seasonal variations removed from the data, the Net Employment Outlook of 14 per cent is a one percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter and is an increase of four percentage points compared to the outlook reported during the same time last year.
The survey of over 1,900 employers across Canada reveals that 16 per cent plan to increase their staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2018, while six per cent anticipate cutbacks.
Of the employers surveyed, 77 per cent expect their current staffing levels to remain unchanged, while the remaining one per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions.
