Almost half of Canadian businesses are finding it more challenging to attract talented employees now than it was before the recession, according to a BMO Bank of Montreal report this morning.
The Hiring Outlook Report states that 47% of Canadian businesses are having difficulties attracting and retaining qualified employees.
“As the economy recovers, businesses are looking to become as productive as possible, and that may mean taking advantage of historically low interest rates to finance their growth plans and upgrade their talent pool,” said Steve Murphy, senior vice-president at BMO Commercial Banking.
In the short and long term, small and large businesses see hiring and retaining qualified employees as their biggest challenge.
The sectors that are facing the biggest obstacles are:
- manufacturers (60%), who are finding it the most difficult to hire talent; and
- retailers (58%), who are finding employee retention their biggest challenge.
The report found approximately 25% of businesses plan to increase staffing levels within the next year and 71% in the following year.
Four per cent of businesses plan to decrease staffing levels.
In British Columbia, the report found:
- 27% of businesses plan to hire more employees in the next year;
- 63% of businesses intend to maintain current staffing levels; and
- 5% of businesses expect to reduce their employee numbers.
