Companies remain cautious
According to a survey from the Bank of Canada, Canadian companies are depending on improving growth, rising investment and more hiring in the coming year, good news driven particularly by the optimism and relatively good health of the United States economy. Nonetheless, companies remain cautious in their forecasts, given market conditions. This distrust can be explained in particular by the fear of inflation. Still, 91% of the companies interviewed for the survey stated their intention to maintain or increase their hiring, compared to 87% in the first quarter of this year.
Canadians lacking holidays
Expedia.ca has conducted a survey among 1,502 Canadian travellers about vacations, comparing the results with European data especially. It appears that while on the other side of the Atlantic employees have 25 to 30 days of vacation on average, Canadians have to be content with 17 days off per year. 40% of them therefore believe they are short of vacations. Paradoxically, 27% didn’t use all their vacation last year. The main reason? They were too busy at work and didn’t have the resources needed in terms of staff to entrust their responsibilities to others during their absence (13% of respondents). In addition, 61% of respondents admitted to struggling to fully disconnect when on holiday; they still consult their emails and listen to their messages.
Is experience more important than education?
For 84% of Canadians, experience has more influence than education when seeking work and can compensate for the lack of a degree. In addition, 82% of those interviewed by Randstad during their last Global Workmonitor feel that a temporary job can lead to permanent employment. The results indicate a change in attitudes, since until a few years ago employees thought that temporary jobs were poorly paid and low skilled. However, they can offer real opportunities, flexibility and allow experience to be gained, while exploring new areas of professional interest. 89% of Canadians also think that it’s better to have a temporary job than no job at all. Furthermore, 58% don’t believe in job security any more, a percentage even higher than in the United States (71%).
Employment stable in June
During June the unemployment rate remained stable at 7.1%, according to Statistics Canada. During the first quarter, job creation reached 14,000 per month on average, compared to 27,000 in the last quarter of the previous year. Thus, over the last twelve months, employment rose by 1.4% (242,000) and the total number of hours worked by 0.6%. The highest increases were recorded in Manitoba (+7,300 in June) and Saskatchewan (+4,300 in June). However, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island lost 5,200 and 1,100 jobs respectively.