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Canadian Employers’ Hiring Projections for early 2016

With 2015 being a rough and unpredictable year for Canadian job seekers and employers, it is reassuring to hear Michelle Dunnill, Manpower Area Manager for Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, in the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, describe the prospects for hiring in the first quarter in 2016:

“We are seeing some positive signs for Canadian job seekers, with overall employment in the country surpassing 18 million for the first time”

Manpower, who produce quarterly report on employers’ hiring intentions, sounded cautiously optimistic when looking ahead to the first quarter of 2016 in Canada.

Based on a survey of 1,900 employers across the country, the agency report that:

  • 9 percent of employers plan to increase hiring
  • 81 percent planning to keep staffing levels the same
  • 3 percent were unsure
  • 7 percent were planning to cut back on staff

In terms of sectors, the agency found the following:

  • The strongest hiring prospects were from employers in the Transportation & Public Utilities, ​with Net Employment Outlook of 15 per cent
  • Manufacturing – Durables anticipate a Net Employment Outlook of 12 percent, above last quarter’s predictions
  • Construction jobs were viewed positively, also expecting a Net Employment Outlook of 12 percent.
  • Wholesale & Retail Trade employers projected a Net Employment Outlook of 11 percent
  • Public Administration employers report upbeat hiring plans for the next quarter, reporting a similar Net Employment Outlook, at 11 per cent.
  • Services jobs were expected to remain favourable, with a Net Employment Outlook of 10 percent
  • Employers in Finance, Insurance & Real Estate reported a Net Employment Outlook of seven percent, which is lower than the last quarter
  • Manufacturing – Non­ Durables reported a Net Employment Outlook of four per cent, which is similar the previous quarter and represents a decrease of a percentage point over last year’s reported outlook
  • Employers in the Education sector were less optimistic, expecting only limited hiring opportunities of a Net Employment Outlook of three per cent, which is a percentage point decrease from last quarter, as well as a decrease of 4 percentage points from the  same quarter last year.
  • The Mining sector projected a lower hiring pace for the first quarter of 2016, with a Net Employment Outlook of ­9 percent – 6 percentage point decrease compared to last quarter, and a considerable drop of 15 percentage points from the outlook reported for the same time last year.

In terms of provincial hiring expectations, the breakdown was as follows:

  • Atlantic Canada was most optimistic, with a Net Employment Outlook of 10 per cent.
  • Ontario employers anticipated a mild hiring climate, reporting 8 percent
  • Western Canada projected 7 percent, and
  • Quebec projected 5 percent.

Finally, divided by company sizes:

  • Employers in medium­-sized companies projected the most positive hiring prospects for this quarter, with an outlook of 14 percent
  • Large-sized employers (250+ employees)  also anticipate a positive hiring climate with an outlook of 13 percent
  • Small organizations report an “ambiguous” Outlook of 4 percent, and
  • Employers in “micro­sized” organizations (1­9 employees) project an outlook of only 3 percent for the upcoming quarter.
[This data, titled The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is updated on a quarterly basis]

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Ask the Employment Specialist: Signs of being fired

Close up of a man carrying his belongs out of the office in a cardboard box.Dear Joanna,

I have a feeling that I will soon be fired. I’ve been working at this company for 10 years, am a top performer, meeting all my targets and have received only positive feedback from my manager. However, I am being excluded from a major “change management” project that was recently implemented here, without any explanation.

Can you point me at some possible signs that I should be looking out for at my workplace that would indicate that I might be out of a job soon?

Signed: Fear of the Unknown (FOTU)

Dear FOTU

The best advice regarding the “telltale signs” that the pink slip may be coming is from Paul Michael’s blog, WiseBread. Below, you’ll find a long list of questions you can ask yourself. If can answer “yes” to at least three or more of the questions, you might be on the “chopping block” and it’s time to look for another job:

  1. Are you finding that you are suddenly being left out of the loop? If you used to know what was going on in your firm, and now you have to learn company news from outside sources, it’s time to move on.
  2. Did you recently make a huge mistake? Did you lose money for the company or team? Only you can decide if you messed up. If you know, HR knows. Michael calls this the “final nail in your coffin.”
  3. Do people seem to be avoiding you at all costs, no longer doing that fun small talk in the halls or at lunch, whispering around you, and avoiding eye contact?
  4. How well did your last performance review go? Does it read like a train wreck?
  5. Has your company recently been sold or merged? This is rarely good news for about 90% of the staff. Being sold means new management, and they often have new plans for the company that include cutbacks and layoffs.
  6. Are you being given impossible jobs that seem to have little or no chance of success? This is a very popular action, although underhanded. The company may need a big reason to give you the boot, especially if you’ve done everything right and are the life and soul of your department — enter the impossible task.
  7. Are your responsibilities shrinking to the point where you now have less responsibility than the intern?
  8. Has your office, cubicle or working space recently been down-sized?
  9. Do you get a sense that people are talking about you — whispering more around you, or changing the topic as you approach?
  10. Did your recently receive a pay freeze or, worse still, a pay cut?
  11. Have you seen a job posting for your company that matches your job description?
  12. Does it seem like everyone really dislikes you?
  13. Have you recently been asked to take some time off?
  14. Are you noticing that more communication between you and your superiors is being conducted on paper or email, thereby leaving a clear paper-trail?
  15. Are you finding it almost impossible to get approval or ‘buy in’ on projects that your propose?
  16. Have you recently been asked to work on a “special project”?
  17. Are your successes and accomplishments being glossed over or taken for granted?
  18. Are you currently being ‘retrained’ or have you been told to take coaching sessions?
  19. Has your immediate boss or mentor quit or been terminated?
  20. Have you recently been promoted to a position of less responsibility?

If you find that you have answered “Yes” to 3 or more of these questions, it my be time to move on, regardless. These experiences can seriously impact on your day-to-day experience on a job — it may be time to find an employer where you are appreciated more and where you can start enjoying your work better.

Joanna

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Find Work in a sector you enjoy: Jobs in Sports

Jobs In Sports football playerDo you love sports? Would you love to work in an environment with others who share your passion for hockey, soccer, basketball, track and field, horse racing or other sports?

The sports sector in Toronto is very large and most of those who work in it are not athletes or broadcasters. When I performed a  search through jobs posted under the keyword “sports” on Simply Hired Canada, I found over 5000 varied jobs in the sector, including Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Inside Sales, Staging, and Bookkeeping.  If I put the word “hockey” into that search, almost 1000 jobs appeared bars, hockey leagues, sports arenas, fundraising  and even banking, web development and construction.

In addition to looking for jobs on aggregators like SimplyHired or Indeed, there are a few specialized sports job boards, including the following:

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) is a well established Canadian not-for-profit organization, which provides a range of supports and information for people in the sports sector, including a listing of jobs with sports related employers .

SportsHiring.com, a division of Cosmos Sports, a sports marketing company,  is a North American site which describes itself as providing “one of the industry’s most comprehensive sports job and internship listings“.

TeamWork Online is a North America wide service, who describe themselves as offering “ the most advanced and integrated suite of recruiting tools and industry networks“, including most large sport franchises.

Many of the sports franchises and related employers post jobs on their sites, such as:

Bottom line:

Sometimes just being in an environment that you enjoy can make a bit difference. If you really want to work in the sports sector, you don’t need to be an athlete — identify your ideal employers and look for jobs with those companies that match your skills.

JVS Toronto Head Office

74 Tycos Drive
Toronto, ON
M6B 1V9

T: 416-787-1151
E: services@jvstoronto.org
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