A recent survey shows 23 per cent of Greater Victoria employers across all sectors expect to hire new employees for the fourth quarter of 2011.
But the net hiring increase is 10 per cent, with 13 per cent of employers indicating they’ll likely make cutbacks in the near future, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
“This year as the confidence level has grown in the marketplace, they (employers) brought people on sooner,” said Monica Star of Manpower’s Vancouver office. “They weren’t waiting for that last minute. They’ve been more anticipatory of their needs.”
The survey looks at the Capital Region’s private and public employers and determines a “hiring climate” for the upcoming quarter. They do so by asking whether employers plan to hire, cut back or hold steady in their staffing levels between October and December – the period when many business, especially retail, are at their busiest with the upcoming Christmas shopping season.
The remaining 64 per cent of respondents indicated they plan to hold steady.
That forecast is four per cent better than Q4 of 2010, “indicating a hopeful hiring environment for the upcoming months,” Star said.
“Especially in that it’s a four per cent improvement over last year, it shows it’s a big improvement in the hiring market.”