Half of Canadian Companies Plan to Hire for New Roles in 2024: Report

Pedestrians walk past a Now Hiring sign in Arlington, Va., on March 16, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

More than half of Canadian companies have plans to add new permanent positions in the second half of the year, a new report suggests.

Fifty-two percent of companies are planning to hire people for new positions, and 41 percent plan to fill existing roles, according to a July 30 survey by talent solutions firm Robert Half. Another 58 percent plan to recruit more contract and project-based professionals.

Half of the 1,800 hiring managers surveyed said company growth was the main factor influencing hiring decisions, while 38 percent said they are looking for skills their current employees don’t have. Nearly 40 percent said their hiring plans are focused on talent for project-based work, and 41 percent said they are hiring because of employee turnover.

The survey was conducted in the first two weeks of June, and it involved Canadian companies with 20 or more employees in sectors such as finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer service, and human resources.

Difficulty Finding Skilled Professionals

The report found that 90 percent of managers face challenges finding skilled professionals, and more than half (51 percent) believe they will lack job applicants with the skills they are looking for. Another 46 percent said they anticipate difficulty hiring quickly enough to recruit top talent, while 51 percent said they lost their top candidate to competitors for taking too long to make an offer.

“Hiring challenges and subsequent lengthy hiring cycles can have a big impact on projects and business priorities,” said Koula Vasilopoulos, senior managing director of Robert Half Canada, in a release.

“Employers have crucial roles that need filling, and need to ensure they have strategic hiring strategies in place to attract talent and keep projects on track.”

Nearly half of hiring managers (49 percent) think they’ll have trouble finding prospects who align with their company culture, the report said. Similarly, 46 percent believe that meeting candidates’ salary expectations will be a major hiring challenge.

The authors noted that companies have already taken measures to attract top talent, with almost 60 percent of managers willing to overlook years of experience for candidates who possess the required skills. Other strategies include offering hybrid work options and flexible schedules.

Latest Employment Trends

According to the latest Statistics Canada’s labour force survey, the employment rate in June was 61.1 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from its peak in January and February of last year.

Compared to the previous month, the employment rate in June fell slightly by 0.2 percentage points, marking the eighth decrease in the last nine months. But compared to the same period last year, the employment rate in June rose by 1.7 percent in 2024.

According to the agency, employment growth in the 12 months leading up to June was faster in the public sector than in the private sector, at 4.3 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.