Canada To ‘Outhire’ The World

Earlier this week, the QMI Agency revealed some promising news for job seekers in Canada. Their recent report has unveiled the findings of the bi-annual Regus Business Tracker survey. Polling over 10,000 companies in 78 countries, the study found that Canadian businesses are outperforming the rest of the world in their plans for hiring.

If fact, the survey concluded that 36 per cent of businesses across the world plan on hiring within the first half of 2011. Meanwhile, 41 per cent of Canadian business owners intend on increasing the size of their staffs in the new year. Those seeking employment will be happy to know that Canada is a world leader in offering job opportunities.

Wes Lenci, the Regus regional vice-president for Canada, had this to say about the findings: “The intention to increase headcount is a clear indicator that businesses want to be prepared to grasp the opportunities that recovering markets may throw their way. For Canada in particular, where employment increased by 36,000 in August and 8.1% more people entered the labour force, unemployment nevertheless edged up 0.1 percentage points.”

According to Statistics Canada, the recent study shows promise in a nation where jobs were being shed more rapidly in the past few months. They report that 6,600 jobs were lost last month pushing the overall unemployment rate to 8 per cent. Thankfully, this number pales in comparison to the jobless rates in other nations across the world.

QMI notes that the International Monetary Fund and International Labour Organization.Global says that global unemployment “has reached record proportions in the last three years, hitting 210 million” although “the findings of the Regus Business Tracker provide important evidence that the world unemployment situation may be set to ease in 2011.”

The survey also reveals that business owners are more optimistic about their hiring policies now than they were six months ago, in spite of the fact that 41 per cent of respondents still plan on reducing overhead costs. Thankfully, the plan is to do so without resorting to layoffs.

Said Regus: “This reveals an attitude of cautious optimism. As companies look to find economies in their own operations, we are likely to see more and more organizations offering flexible working practices to their existing or prospective employees in a bid to achieve a better work-life balance and run a leaner organization.”