Two employer surveys released yesterday and reported on by the Vancouver Sun today suggest that the chill is continuing to come off the labour market climate in Canada.

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of nearly 1,900 Canadian employers:

• 21 per cent plan to increase their payrolls in the 4th quarter of 2010, while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks.
• 70 per cent of employers expect to maintain their current staffing levels and two per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions for the upcoming quarter
• of the 10 surveyed industry sectors, employers in the Mining and Manufacturing-Durable Goods sectors report the most positive results for the fourth quarter of 2010, with projected Net Employment Outlooks of 25 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. This is followed by the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector, where industry employers anticipate an upbeat climate, reporting a Net Employment Outlook of 19 per cent
• Regionally, employers in Atlantic and Western Canada anticipate the most favourable hiring climates. The survey data indicates employers in Atlantic Canada have positive hiring intentions for the coming quarter, reporting a Net Employment Outlook of 17 per cent. Employers in Western Canada anticipate a steady hiring environment for the upcoming quarter, also reporting a Net Employment Outlook of 17 per cent.

The second survey was Hewitt Associates' 32nd Annual Canada Salary Increase Survey of more than 500 organizations across the country which revealed that:

• The biggest difference between 2010 and 2009 is a reduction in the number of salary freezes. In 2009, nearly three in ten employers (29.2 per cent) imposed a salary freeze, awarding no increases to some or all employees. In 2010, the number of companies with salary freezes dropped to about 1 in 12 (8.2 per cent).
• The percentage of organizations considering pay cuts dropped from nine per cent to less than one per cent between 2009 and 2010, and the number planning layoffs fell from 30.7 per cent to 11.8 per cent.
• There was also an upward, but conservative, trend in salary increases in 2010. The average salary increase was 2.6 per cent nationally in 2010, up from the 2.2 per cent increase awarded in 2009.
• Saskatchewan led the country in 2010, as it did in 2009, with pay increases averaging 3.7 per cent, although this figure represents a decrease from the 4.2 per cent salary increases awarded last year. Atlantic Canada had the next highest 2010 salary increases at 3.3 per cent, while Alberta (3.1 per cent), Manitoba (2.9 per cent) and Ontario (2.5 per cent) followed. British Columbia and Quebec had the lowest 2010 increase rates at 2.4 per cent.
• 27 per cent of employers hold some of their compensation budget in reserve to provide additional base pay increases to highest performing employees and 14 per cent provide discretionary restricted stock or stock options.
• 84 per cent of survey respondents offer variable pay programs.