Hundreds line up for various booths at the The National Job Fair & Training Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 2012.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
A new survey suggests fewer Canadian employers expect to add more permanent full-time jobs in the second half of 2012 than they did in last year's poll.
The Harris Interactive survey found that 40 per cent of hiring managers said they were planning to hire new permanent, full-time employees by the end of the year compared with 43 per cent in the second half of 2011.
The countrywide survey was conducted between May 14 and June 4 on behalf of website CareerBuilder Canada.
Results from among 292 hiring managers and human resource professionals contacted found that in addition to the 40 per cent who expected to add high full-time employees, 22 per cent planned to add part-time workers and 26 per cent contract or temporary employees. Some 17 per cent said they would take on interns.
"Canada's job market continues to grow with jobs opening up in a wide variety of functions and industries," said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America.
"(But) while employers are more confident about their revenue prospects and expansion opportunities in the back half of 2012, they remain watchful of the global economic recovery and market dynamics in their own backyard," he added.
The survey found the major fields in which businesses plan to hire first are those directly impacting and supporting revenue and innovation.
These include information technology (21 per cent), customer service (21 per cent) administrative (21 per cent), sales (15 per cent), accounting/finance (12 per cent), business development (8 per cent) and marketing (8 per cent).
Meanwhile, increasing numbers of employers report they have created entirely new job functions within their organizations to respond to evolving business demands over the last five years.
Among then, positions tied to storing and managing data (25 per cent), social media (20 per cent), financial regulation (18 per cent), cyber security (12 per cent), green energy and the environment (10 per cent) and global relations (nine per cent).
Harris Interactive, which also surveyed 552 full-time Canadian workers 18 years of age and older, found employees were feeling better about job prospects. In fact, three in 10 stated they were likely to leave their current jobs in the next 12 months.
The competition for talent was also reflected in employer responses, with 44 per cent acknowledging they were concerned about losing valued workers. More than a quarter of employers – 27 per cent – said they had lost some of their top talent in the second quarter of 2012.