Construction jobs lead the way in nation's fifth hottest job market

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By James Foster
Times & Transcript Staff

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Moncton area employers expect an optimistic hiring climate for the third quarter of 2009, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Enlarge Photo

Construction workers work on the foundation of the new courthouse on Westmorland St.

Survey data reveals that 30 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (July to

September,) while 10 per cent intend to reduce their workforce, says Mindy Stoltz of Manpower's

Moncton office. Another 60 per cent expect to maintain their current staffing levels for the coming quarter.

That means Moncton, with its Net Employment Outlook of 20 per cent, boasts the fifth most active job market in Canada, down from last year's figures for the third quarter but up over the previous quarter of this year. The NEO is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who plan to lay off staff from the number of employers who plan to hire.

"Moncton's third quarter Net Employment Outlook of 20 per cent is a 27 percentage point decrease from the same time last year when employers reported an outlook of 47 per cent," Stoltz says.

"However, it is on par with the outlook reported in the previous quarter indicating a steady hiring climate for the third quarter of 2009."

The Moncton area's hiring climate outpaces the national rate significantly, particularly in the construction sector.

Nationally, Moncton's net employment outlook of 20 per cent is topped only by Fort Erie, Ont. (22 per cent); Victoria (23 per cent); Fredericton (23 per cent); and Charlottetown (24 per cent.)

The quarterly survey suggests that for the Atlantic region, the most jobs available later this summer will be in the Construction sector, with an employment outlook of 36 per cent.

Hiring is also expected to be brisk in the Public Administration sector, with an outlook of 32 per cent, as well as Wholesale and Retail Trade, which boasts an NEO of 30 per cent.

The service sector in Atlantic Canada reports an outlook of 24 per cent, while Finance, Insurance & Real Estate estimates a 20 per cent outlook.

The gloomiest outlook lies in Manufacturing, at minus 14 per cent, Manpower says.

A quarter-to-quarter comparison shows that hiring intentions are up in Mining, Transportation, Public Utilities and some other sectors. Year-to-year comparisons show declines in Manufacturing and Mining, in particular.

Hiring is expected to be slower nationally, on average, than in Metro Moncton.

"This quarter's national Net Employment Outlook indicates that the modest hiring climate reported in the previous quarter will continue," says Lori Rogers, VP Staffing Services for Manpower Canada.

"Canadian employers are indicating that they will expand their payrolls but at a weaker pace than in the previous quarter."

Of the 10 surveyed sectors nationally, employers in the Public Administration sector report the most encouraging results for the July to September period of 2009 with a projected Net Employment Outlook of nine per cent once seasonal variations are removed from the data.

In the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector employers anticipate a mild quarter with a seasonally adjusted outlook of eight per cent, and with a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of six per cent, employers in the construction sector, nationally, prepare for a modest hiring climate later this summer.

The worst outlooks for the Atlantic region were found in Saint John and St. John's, both at 13 per cent.

In the survey, employers are asked "How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the three months to the end of September, 2009, as compared to the current quarter?"

The margin of error is not greater than plus or minus 3.9 per cent and the margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 per cent.

The data is seasonally adjusted.