News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 28, 2011) - A new study from BMO Bank of Montreal, released today, reveals that Canadians are less optimistic than they were this time last year about employers' investments in the workplace. The results stand in contrast to a more optimistic view from Canadian businesses.

Last year, 33 per cent of the Canadian workforce expected employee training and development programs to be offered by their employer. When asked about their expectations for 2012, only 18 per cent of Canadians anticipate their employer will invest in such programs. Furthermore, the study also found that only 17 per cent of Canadians believe that employers will do more hiring, compared to 29 per cent for 2011. Similarly, lower employee expectations exist for investments by employers in new equipment (29 per cent vs. 20 per cent this year).

Regionally, Albertans are the most likely to say that their employer will be hiring more people in the coming year (32 per cent ), and are among the most likely to say that they will be purchasing new equipment (31 per cent).

Employee Expectations for 2012 - Regional

	NATIONAL		REGIONAL
	For 2012	For 2011	ATL	QC	ON	MB/SK	AB	BC
Hire More Employees	17%	29%	6%	15%	17%	19%	32%	13%
Employee Training	18%	33%	17%	18%	17%	25%	26%	14%
New Equipment	20%	29%	13%	23%	17%	23%	31%	17%

"A general sense of economic uncertainty may be reflected in employees' expectations for 2012 when compared to a more cautious optimism at the beginning of last year," said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, BMO Commercial Banking. "Canadians likely expect that the current economic conditions will have a measurable impact this year on the investments companies are prepared to make in their workforce. However, this appears to be in contrast to what we are hearing from businesses, and what we found in our survey of business owners in the late summer."

Employer Expectations

In a recent BMO commercial banking survey, 79 per cent of business owners indicated that they have plans to invest the same or more in 2012. Of those businesses planning to invest more in 2012, 39 per cent said they plan to invest more in hiring and 31 per cent planned to increase their spending on employee training.

"According to BMO Economics, the Canadian economy is projected to grow a modest 2.0% in 2012, and this is expected to increase the demand for labour by 0.7%. The unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 7.2% by the end of 2012," said Sal Guatieri, Senior Economist, BMO Capital Markets. The survey data on Canadians' expectations line up with the recent decline in consumer confidence and the stalling in employment growth, outside of Alberta.

"Employees are the very foundation of a successful business and can be a source of competitive advantage. How a company attracts, develops and retains the individuals executing the business strategy should be a top priority for leaders," said Lynn Roger, Senior Vice President, Talent Strategies and Executive Resourcing, BMO Financial Group. "Investing in employee training and development now, with a longer-term plan, will help business owners ensure they have a supply of talented employees who are prepared to take the company to the next level of performance."

Survey of Canadians

Survey was completed online from December 5-8, 2011, using Leger Marketing's online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 1542 Canadians. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.

Business Survey

The business survey was completed between August 30 and September 16, 2011, with a sample of 503 small, medium and large business owners in Canada. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.