News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 8, 2012) - With new job numbers released today by Statistics Canada showing that Canadian employment rose by 7,700 jobs in May but youth employment down 1.8 per cent from year-ago levels, BMO Bank of Montreal released the BMO Hiring Intentions Survey, which shows a spilt between Canadian businesses on their plans to add new employees in 2012.

According to the survey, 46 per cent of Canadian businesses plan to hire new employees this year, while slightly more (51 per cent) do not have plans to add additional staff this calendar year.

Furthermore, 70 per cent of Canadian businesses are looking for post-secondary education when they are hiring. One-third are seeking job applicants with specialized educational backgrounds. By sector, businesses in the oil/gas, mining, and construction sectors most strongly looked for other specialized post secondary education at 40 per cent.

"Our research shows that while Canadian companies continue to remain cautiously optimistic, we are seeing a willingness to make deliberate and targeted investments to grow their business," said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. "The new job numbers out today reinforce our outlook, and show that many companies are still looking to hire student employees for the summer ahead."

"Canada held on to the hefty job increases in the spring and even added to the totals despite the gathering uncertainty on the global economy," said Doug Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "While this result will not move the dial on Bank of Canada expectations, it does suggest that the overall labour market remains relatively healthy."

Canadian Business Plans to Hire in 2012

The online survey was conducted by Leger Marketing between March 21, 2012 and April 12, 2012, using a sample of 500 Canadian small business owners. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±4.38 per cent, 19 times out of 20.