St. John’s area employers expect a cloudy hiring climate for the first quarter of 2019, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
“Survey data reveals that 13 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (January to March), while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks,” said Mindy Stoltz of Manpower’s St. John’s office. “Another 80 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter."
“With seasonal variations removed from the data, St. John’s first quarter Net Employment Outlook of negative seven per cent is a two percentage point increase when compared to the previous quarterly Outlook,” said Stoltz.
“It is also a one percentage point decrease from the Outlook reported during the same time last year, indicating a disappointing hiring pace for the upcoming months.”
Manpower points out Canadian job growth slowed during the last quarter of 2018.
“While the 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 and an increasing number of employers are investing in automation to perform labour-intensive functions.”
