The coming year is expected to bring good and bad news for the Canadian job market, according to a survey of more than 350 organizations by the Wynford Group.
The good news: Canadian businesses are expecting a solid year in 2012, with 66.5% of survey respondents saying they expect business growth and only 5.4% projecting a decline. The bad news: many businesses are facing critical challenges with respect to employee recruitment. According to the firm’s research, attracting top talent, retaining top talent and developing and maintaining competitive compensation are the top concerns for HR professionals.
Despite the concern surrounding competitive compensation, there is a silver lining, with the national average base salary increase expected to climb to 3.23% this year. Among the provinces, Alberta has the highest projected increase, at 3.46%. Following close behind are British Columbia, at 3.18%, and Saskatchewan, at 3.15%.