Canadian employers expect a steady hiring climate for the fourth quarter of 2010, with finance, insurance and real estate firms anticipating a particularly active hiring pace, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

The survey of nearly 1,900 Canadian employers revealed a net employment outlook of 15%, up four percentage points from the previous quarter, when employers reported an outlook of 11%. The outlook has increased by 10 percentage points from the same time last year.

Of those surveyed, 70% said they expect to maintain their current staffing levels and 2% are unsure of their hiring intentions for the upcoming quarter. One in five plan to increase their payrolls in the fourth quarter, while 7% anticipate cutbacks.

“This quarter’s Net Employment Outlook indicates that the hiring climate will remain steady for the fourth quarter of 2010,” said Byrne Luft, vice president of staffing operations for Manpower Canada. “Employers are telling us that they plan to continue to increase their payrolls at a similar pace for the rest of the year.”

Of the 10 surveyed industry sectors, employers in the mining and manufacturing-durable goods sectors reported the most positive results for the fourth quarter of 2010, with projected net employment outlooks of 25% and 21%, respectively.

This was followed by the finance, insurance and real estate sector, with a net employment outlook of 19%. This is an eight percentage point increase from the previous quarter, and a 10 percentage point improvement from the same time last year.

Regionally, employers in Atlantic and Western Canada anticipated the most favourable hiring climates, reporting an outlook of 17% each. This is largely thanks to solid hiring projections for the manufacturing and mining sectors in these regions, according to Luft.

Meanwhile, employers in Ontario expect a respectable hiring climate with an outlook of 14%, and Quebec area employers anticipate a moderate fourth quarter reporting a Net Employment Outlook of 8%.

Canadian firms challenged to attract talented workers

Meanwhile, a separate study released on Tuesday by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) and WorldatWork, an international association of human resource professionals, showed that most companies in Canada and around the world are struggling to attract the critical-skill and talented employees needed to help them recover from the downturn.

In the study of 1,176 companies globally, including 155 from Canada, nearly two-thirds of companies reported problems attracting critical-skill employees. Six in 10 reported similar difficulty attracting top-performing, talented employees.

Interestingly, companies reported less difficulty retaining employees than they do attracting them, with only 21% of companies saying they’re having difficulty keeping employees generally.

“Although the Canadian economy has been stronger than that of some countries in the survey, the business climate has still impacted the supply and demand of talent, and companies’ ability to attract and hire talented employees,” said Ofelia Isabel, the Canadian leader for rewards, talent and communication, consulting at Towers Watson.

“Top talent is always in short supply, but employees are now telling us that with sufficient career development opportunities, they would prefer to stay with their current employers. This desire to remain with their current employer is going to require companies to be more creative in their efforts in how they attract and build talent and leadership in the future.”

IE