Q2 offers optimism for hiring

London-area employers look to active hiring climate in for the second quarter of 2021

ACCORDING TO THE latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, London-area employers are anticipating an active hiring climate for the second quarter of 2021.

“Survey data reveals that 33 per cent of [London-region] employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter, while 5 per cent anticipate cutbacks,” says Natasha Djukic of Manpower’s Stoney Creek office. “The remaining 62 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter.”

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According to Djukic, with seasonal variation removed from the data, London’s second quarter 2021 net employment outlook of plus-25 per cent is a six percentage-point increase compared to the previous quarterly outlook.

“It is also a 22 percentage-point increase from the outlook reported during the same time last year, indicating a healthy hiring pace for the upcoming months,” she says.

Looking national trends, Darlene Minatel, country manager of ManpowerGroup Canada, says an ongoing moderate hiring outlook for employers in the second quarter of 2021 ― in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic ― can be interpreted as a positive trajectory.  

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“With all ten industry sectors expecting to hire in the upcoming quarter, there will be opportunities for jobseekers,” says Minatel. “All four regions of the country have positive employment outlooks for the second quarter of 2021, but jobseekers in Atlantic Canada have the greatest challenge with a limited employment outlook (plus 3 per cent) anticipated. With widespread Covid-19 vaccination on the horizon, employers appear to be cautiously optimistic and open to flexibility in consideration of the post-pandemic chapter for business.”