Employers optimistic on hiring in 2010

When it comes to hiring, employers are feeling a little more optimistic, according to the latest quarterly Business Outlook Survey conducted by the Bank of Canada.

Over the next 12 months, 54 per cent of 100 firms surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2009 said they expect to increase the number of employees, while 14 per cent said they expect to decrease the number of staff.

That’s a notable improvement from the third quarter, when the same survey found 42 per cent expected to add employees and 15 per cent expected to cut. It’s also the most positive outlook employers have had since the first quarter of 2007, according to the Bank of Canada figures. (See below for a comprehensive look at the numbers dating back to 1998.)

While employers expect the economic recovery to be gradual, employers are planning on increasing investment spending. And the credit crunch appears to be easing somewhat over the past three months, although responses to the survey suggest that improvements have been modest and concentrated among large firms.

*Balance of opinion figure represents percentage of firms expecting higher levels of employment minus the percentage expecting lower levels.