One-half of businesses planning to hire students, recent grads

Job prospects brightest in Ontario, Atlantic: Survey

One-half (51 per cent) of Canadian businesses are planning to hire students or recent graduates this year, according to a BMO Bank of Montreal survey.

One-third (30 per cent) plan to take on a paid summer student while one-fifth (21 per cent) plan to hire a recent graduate as a permanent employee.

Regionally, job prospects for students and graduates are the brightest in Ontario (56 per cent), followed by the Atlantic provinces (53 per cent) and Quebec (52 per cent), found the survey of 500 employers.

Regional breakdown

Overall

Atlantic

Quebec

Ontario

Prairies

Sask.

Alberta

B.C.

Hire recent grad as employee

21%

11%

21%

26%

13%

8%

23%

16%

Hire recent grad as paid intern

18%

15%

19%

18%

7%

7%

16%

23%

Hire paid summer student

30%

36%

30%

34%

25%

12%

28%

24%

Differences by sector

Business/financial (37 per cent), retail (25 per cent) and construction (22 per cent) companies are the most likely to hire a recent graduate as a paid intern, found BMO.

The service and manufacturing sectors are the most likely (35 per cent) to hire a paid summer student, followed by the agricultural sector (34 per cent).

Employers in the manufacturing industry are the most likely (25 per cent) to hire a recent graduate as a permanent employee, followed by the services (24 per cent) and retail and business/financial (23 per cent) industries.

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