Canadian hiring outlook modest for coming months: Manpower surveyGetty Images/iStockphoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto
If you bought into what global headlines say this morning, you'd think financial markets are about to fall off a cliff. After France elected a socialist-leaning leader and Greece kicked out its austerity-inducing government, we're led to believe that world is back in chaos.
With that in mind, it's worth looking at a newly published survey on the attitudes of Canadian mid-market corporations – the drivers of the national economy.
Another survey? Really? That's an understandable resentment, but this one holds some weight. For starters, the respondents were 186 chief financial officers from Canadian mid-sized firms, so the sample size is relatively reliable.
It also targets mid-market firms, with average respondent revenue of $136-million. These may not be the companies you hear about in the press, and they may not be publicly traded, but they matter. (GE Capital conducted the survey.)
The key findings: about two-thirds of the CFOs expect their firms' revenues to grow this year; about three-quarters said they expect to hire new workers in the next twelve months; and 40 per cent expected their industries – metals and mining; food, beverage and agribusiness; retail; and trucking – to expand this year.
And with so much angst over Europe, it's interesting to note that 36 per cent of the respondents highlighted the health of the U.S. economy as their number one concern, making it the most important thing to watch. Only about half that number cited Europe's fiscal mess, which landed as the second most important issue on their radar.
Of course, after weak job numbers Friday, the U.S. isn't looking so rosy right now, either. But these are interesting data points to keep in mind.