Positive hiring climate expected in Alberta for upcoming months

While past surveys showed a breakdown of the hiring climate among cities, Ahmed Borhot, Director of Workforce Solutions, confirmed Manpower no longer provides the data following the pandemic.

Pre-pandemic numbers showed roughly 2,500 companies being surveyed; however, he says during the pandemic, 700 companies were being surveyed. While the reason for the fluctuation is not confirmed, this quarterly survey reached over 1,000 Canadian employers.

Borhot says while the biggest markets in the province are coming from Calgary, Edmonton, and Northern Alberta like Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie, they are seeing more work coming out of central Alberta, particularly from Red Deer, Lacombe, and Barrhead, in the construction and production industries. He says he has had companies from both fields looking for employees, such as laborers, skilled tradesmen, operators, production plant and assembly line workers, in the “double digits”.

The main issue in the market today, he explains, is the talent shortage and skills gap.

“Another survey we released earlier this year in the springtime,” he said, “was a talent shortage survey; 75 per cent of employers in Canada are having a hard time filling open roles and the number one reason is a lack of applicants with appropriate skillsets.”

“There’s just not enough talent out there in the market.”

Borhot says Manpower has been working with employers to revamp their recruitment strategies as a result, to attract and retain top talent by simplifying their hiring processes with fewer requirements and hoop-jumping.

From a job-seeker perspective, he says employees need to “embrace the gap” and understand what skillsets are in demand.

“The market’s moving, businesses are transacting, things are happening right now in the market. The unemployment rate is super low; the unemployment rate’s the lowest it’s been since 1976 so all these play a factor in that. It’s a hot market but obviously having a limited labor pool is a big concern,” he said.

A positive trend is also being seen on a national level, according to the report, with employers in most regions and in all industry sectors surveyed expecting to add to their payrolls next quarter.

“Canadians continue to experience a steady period of healthy employment opportunity,” said Darlene Minatel, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Canada. “Survey results support the notion that employers and job seekers are making the adjustment to changing work dynamics brought on by the workplace upheaval of the pandemic.”

Of those surveyed, 45 per cent intend to increase their staffing levels, 13 per cent anticipate cutbacks, 39 per cent expect staffing levels to remain unchanged, and three per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions.

With seasonal variations removed, the Net Employment Outlook for Canada is +30 per cent, an eight-percentage point decrease from the third quarter of 2022 and a six-percentage point decrease from the Outlook reported during the same time last year.

Western Canada (British Columbia) is showing the most robust hiring climate in Canada for the upcoming quarter at +45 per cent, with the Prairie Region and Atlantic Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador) tied in second at +36 per cent.

The report shows a growth in all 11 industries surveyed.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is deemed one of the most extensive forward-looking employment surveys in the world, delivered quarterly since 1962.

by Alessia Proietti

Positive hiring climate expected in Alberta for upcoming months

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