‘Conservative’ hiring climate expected for Hamilton area in the 4th quarter of 2020: survey – Hamilton

A company that pairs up skilled talent with employers expects a “moderate” hiring climate in the greater Hamilton area for the remainder of 2020.

Manpower employment released its hiring forecast for the last quarter of this year and anticipates a “conservative hiring pace,” with just five per cent of respondents planning on adding to staff while about the same anticipate cutbacks.

“Another 86 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter, while the remaining four per cent of employers are unsure of their hiring intentions,” said Britannie Moulder of Manpower’s Stoney Creek office.

The company says the region’s net employment outlook is a one percentage point increase, year over year, to about nine per cent, which Manpower says indicates a “conservative” hiring pace for the coming months.

Manpower expects Halton region (Burlington/Oakville) to produce some steady job gains of about 14 per cent, quarter over quarter, with employers in St. Catharines expecting payrolls to decline by about seven per cent.

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Nine industry sectors are expected to grow in Ontario over the coming quarter with public administration to be the strongest as well as significant gains for work in finance, insurance and real estate.

The company suggests the hiring climate will also be modest across Canada for the fourth quarter.

The national survey of 1,200 employers showed 12 per cent of employers plan to increase staffing levels in the latter part of 2020, while another nine per cent anticipate cutbacks.

Seventy-three per cent of employers surveyed expect their current staffing levels to remain unchanged, while the remaining six per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions.

“A real benefit for job seekers is that eight of the 10 industry sectors are expecting to add workers in the upcoming quarter with the exceptions being the education and mining sectors,” said Darlene Minatel, country manager of ManpowerGroup Canada.

“With three of the four regions of the country having positive employment outlooks for Q4, employment prospects for job seekers appear to be on the upswing.”

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) revealed that Hamilton’s unemployment rate dropped for a second straight month, showing additional recovery from significant drops earlier in the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency says 10,800 jobs were added to the region in August, however, the city is still down 27,700 jobs compared with August 2019.

Keanin Loomis, president and CEO of Hamilton’s Chamber of Commerce, echoed Manpower’s assessment of the future climate for the regional economy, telling Global News he had “cautious optimism” for further growth.