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Solid Hiring Expected for the New Year, CareerBuilder.Ca's Annual Job Forecast Reveals

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 January 2008, 09:00 CST

CareerBuilder.ca, a leading job site in Canada, released the results of its annual survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), tracking projected hiring and job search activities for the upcoming quarter and 2008. The survey, titled "2008 Canadian Job Forecast," was conducted between November 13 and December 3, 2007 and included 281 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 511 workers.

"The employment market of 2007, fueled by a stable economy and strong consumer confidence, produced on average more than 35,000 new jobs per month, according to the Labour Force Survey,"* stated Remy Piazza, Managing Director of CareerBuilder Canada. "Looking ahead to 2008, recruitment trends are expected to continue at a slightly higher pace. Forty-six percent of employers said they plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2008, up from 42 percent at this time last year."

2008 JOB FORECAST

Full-time

Forty-six percent of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2008. This compares to 42 percent who anticipated increasing full-time, permanent headcount in 2007. Six percent plan to decrease staff levels in 2008, while 38 percent expect no change. Ten percent are unsure.

Part-time

Twenty-eight percent of employers plan to increase their number of part-time employees in 2008, down from 35 percent who expected to do so in 2007. Five percent plan to decrease part-time headcount in 2008, while 56 percent expect no change and 12 percent are unsure.

Hiring By Job Level

When asked which job level employers will be recruiting for the most in 2008, 40 percent of employers pointed to professional and technical staff members, while 20 percent cited administrative/clerical positions. Five percent will target management positions from team leaders and directors to C-level executives.

Time-to-Hire

Time-to-hire continues to be a challenge for employers as they compete for top performers for newly created positions and those left vacant by employee turnover. Sixteen percent of employers report it typically takes them two months or longer to fill their open positions.

SEVEN MAJOR HIRING TRENDS FOR 2008

1. Bigger Paychecks

Continuing an existing trend designed to attract and retain top talent, employers plan to offer more lucrative compensation packages in the coming year.

 --  Eighty-four percent of employers report their companies will increase     salaries for existing employees in 2008, similar to last year.  Fifty     percent expect to raise salaries up to three percent, while one-in-four (25     percent) anticipate increases of five percent or more. --  Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of employers expect to increase     salaries on initial offers to new employees, up from 48 percent in 2007.     Thirty-two percent will raise salaries up to three percent or more while 26     percent anticipate increases of five percent or more.  Thirty-five percent     anticipate no increases.      

2. More Flexible Work Arrangements

More companies today are providing employees with greater flexibility to maintain a better work-life balance. Two-thirds (66 percent) of employers report they currently offer flexible schedules to employees and 46 percent will provide more flexible work arrangements in 2008. These arrangements include:

 --  Alternate schedules -- come in early and leave early or come in later     and leave later -- 75 percent --  Compressed workweeks -- work the same hours, but in fewer days - 48     percent --  Summer hours -- 29 percent --  Job sharing -- 28 percent --  Telecommuting options -- 23 percent --  Sabbaticals -- 9 percent      

3. Screening Candidates Via the Internet

To ensure they are recruiting the right talent, more employers are leveraging the Internet as a vehicle for screening potential employees.

 --  Twelve percent of employers report they always or usually use online     job search engines and social networking sites to research job candidates,     while 32 percent report they do so on occasion. --  Nearly one-in-five (19 percent) say they are likely to start using or     increase their use of these resources to research job candidates in 2008.      

4. Rehiring Retirees

More than one-third of employers (36 percent) report concern over the loss of intellectual capital at their organisations as a large number of Baby Boomers approach retirement age.

 --  Twenty-two percent say they are likely to rehire retirees from other     companies in 2008.  Another 23 percent are likely to provide incentives for     workers at or approaching retirement age to stay on with the company     longer. --  At the same time, some workers have expressed interest in postponing     retirement.  Almost one-in-three (30 percent) employers report they have     received requests from workers approaching retirement age to stay on with     their company.      

5. Diversity Recruitment

When asked if there is a particular segment of diverse workers they plan to target more aggressively in 2008, employers pointed to mature workers, women, native Americans and disabled workers.

 --  Eighty-five percent of employers report they will be placing the same     or greater amount of emphasis on recruiting bilingual candidates in the     next 12 months; 37 percent said, in addition to English, French is the most     important language for bilingual hiring.      

6. Freelance or Contract Hiring

In the midst of economic uncertainties, employers are turning to freelance or contract workers to help support business initiatives as they monitor their pace in recruiting permanent employees.

 --  Thirty-five percent of employers anticipate hiring freelancers or     contractors in 2008.      

7. Career Advancement

With more than half of workers (51 percent) stating that a company's ability to offer good career advancement opportunities are more important than salary, employers are taking action to carve out career paths for employees.

 --  More than three-in-ten employers (31 percent) are likely to provide     more promotions and career advancement opportunities in 2008 given the     shortage of workers that some companies are already experiencing.      

HIRING AND COMPENSATION IN Q1

Hiring

Forty-two percent of employers say they increased their headcount in Q4 2007. Eight percent reduced headcount, while half reported no change and 1 percent were unsure.

Employers are expecting similar results for the upcoming quarter. Forty percent of employers plan to add full time, permanent employees in Q1 2008. Eight percent will decrease headcount, while 46 percent anticipate no change and 6 percent are unsure.

Compensation

With a large number of annual salary increases taking place in the first quarter, 67 percent of employers expect to raise compensation levels in the next three months. Less than half 49 (percent) estimate the average raise will amount to three percent or less; while 22 percent anticipate an average raise of five percent or more.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the Canada by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.ca among 281 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions); and 551 Canadian employees (employed full-time; not self-employed) ages 18 and over within Canada between November 13 and December 3, 2007, respectively. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of Canadian employers, and propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 281 and 551 and one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 5.8 (hiring managers and human resource professionals) and +/- 4.2 (Employees) percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated. A full methodology is available upon request.

About CareerBuilder.ca

CareerBuilder is a leading job site in Canada, with more than 1.3 million unique visitors**. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), CareerBuilder.ca powers the career centers for more than 75 Canadian partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include leading portals such as Lycos Canada and AOL Canada. Job seekers visit CareerBuilder.ca every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic e-mail job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.ca products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.ca.

*Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, January through November 2007

**comScore Media Metrix, CareerBuilder LLC property UVs, October 2007

 Media Contact: Michael Erwin Senior Manager, Corporate Communications 773-527-3637 Email Contact

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.ca

Source: MARKET WIRE

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