Upbeat Hiring Climate Projected for London

(London, ON, March 10, 2015) – Employers in the London area project an upbeat hiring climate for the second quarter of 2015, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

“Survey data reveals that 20 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (April to June), while three per cent anticipate cutbacks,” stated Yvonne Tennenbaum, Regional Director for Manpower's Western Ontario Region. Another 77 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter.

“With seasonal variations removed from the data, London’s second quarter Net Employment Outlook of 17 per cent is a significant 17 percentage point increase when compared to the previous quarterly Outlook,” said Tennenbaum. “It is also an increase of 14 percentage points when compared to the Outlook reported during the same time last year, indicating a hopeful hiring pace for the upcoming months.”

“The provinces of Quebec, Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island saw a rise in employment in January, and the nation’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in over five years,”  said Michelle Dunnill, Manpower Area Manager for Toronto, Mississauga and Markham. “However, while the Outlook for Canada is cautiously optimistic, we cannot ignore the obvious concerns over the plunging oil prices and the Canadian dollar’s decrease in value, not to mention that youth unemployment is still nearly double the national average.”