Canadian manufacturers report positive hiring outlook

Hiring activity is expected to pick up in the final months of 2010, particularly in the manufacturing industry, according to the new Robert Half International Professional Employment Report. Manufacturing executives are planning the most hiring next quarter out of any industry, with a net 22 percent expecting to hire, the report reveals.

A net 10 percent of executives expect to hire in the fourth quarter, an increase of two points over the previous quarter. Other findings of the national study include: Forty percent of those polled say it is challenging to find skilled professionals; Just behind manufacturing execs, business services executives are also confident, with 21 percent forecasting Q4 hiring, while finance, insurance and real estate ranked third, with a net 18 percent of executives expecting to hire in the fourth quarter; and eighty-six percent of executives polled are confident in their companies’ growth prospects for the fourth quarter, up from 85 percent in the previous quarter.
 
The quarterly Robert Half Professional Employment Report was developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. The study is based on more than 1,000 telephone interviews with executives from a random sample of Canadian companies across a number of industries.

For more information, including full survey results, charts and graphs, visit www.roberthalf.ca/per.