Calgary employers not expecting to hire in early 2019: survey

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Expect to see fewer help-wanted ads in Calgary in the new year, according to a new survey.

A poll of Canadian employers finds the vast majority in Calgary are not planning to add to the payroll anytime soon.

ManpowerGroup polled 1,900 firms across Canada.

While the outlook was generally positive for most of the country, that is not the case in Calgary.

“88 per cent of (Calgary) employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels in the upcoming quarter,” said CEO Randy Upright.

Upright said that suggests a “subdued hiring pace” to start 2019.

Many analysts were surprised by Alberta’s job creation numbers for November.

Statistics Canada reported 24,000 positions were added in the province, although many were in the public sector or government.

Upright said that momentum is not expected to continue.

“Based on the survey results, the highly robust hiring information that we received for November is not anticipated to continue at the same rate in the first quarter of 2019.”

ManpowerGroup’s Darlene Minatel said the economic forecast means many firms will continue to find ways to cut labour costs.

“Employees are being asked to do more work with less pay and an increasing number of employers are investing in automation to perform labour-intensive functions,” Minatel said.

Outside of Alberta, the survey found a favourable hiring climate for the first quarter of 2019, with employers in the transportation and public utilities sectors expressing strong optimism.

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