Hiring intention for financial services among strongest for 2022

What a difference a year makes, even while the pandemic continues to create challenges for the Canadian economy.

A cross-industry analysis of hiring intentions shows a 32-percentage-point increase for the first quarter of 2022 compared to a year earlier, with a +37% national outlook.

ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Survey reveals that the banking, finance, insurance, and real estate sector has among the strongest hiring intentions, +43%, just behind manufacturing (44%) and IT, telecoms, communications, and media (48%).

However, for those in finance roles that are not customer facing, working remotely at least part time will be evident in the next three months.

Vaccination status will also play an important part in some roles with 47% of employers surveyed say they will require proof of double vaccination for all employees, and another 10% will require proof of double vaccination and a booster.

A recent announcement from the federal labour minister proposed mandatory vaccination for banking workers.

"As economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Canadian job seekers will see ongoing opportunities across numerous industries this coming quarter," said Darlene Minatel, country manager of ManpowerGroup Canada. "Employers are strongly in favour of COVID-19 vaccination for employees, and express openness to remote work for some roles."

Employer intentions

Across all industry groups, 50% of the 1,000 employers polled said they plan to increase their staffing levels in the first quarter of 2022, while 14% anticipate cutbacks, 35% expect their current staffing levels to remain unchanged, while 1% are unsure of their hiring intentions.

Hiring intentions are positive across all provinces but Quebec has the strongest outlook.