Over the past couple of months, the Workforce Planning Board (WPB) has targeted local employers in several key industries in the manufacturing sector to talk specifically at supply and demand for labour. With the impact of the economic downturn still fresh in our minds, we went into these consultations unsure as to what the current demand for labour would be.

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of employers who indicated that they were currently hiring or planned to hire over the next 12 months. We were also pleased to see that those who were not hiring were not planning to layoff either and so it would appear that the labour market has become more stable than it has been for quite some time now.  In one way, that's a good thing, but it's not good news for those unskilled workers who were displaced from the sector over the past two years or so. The types of new jobs being created, in most cases, are at much higher skill levels than before and they may be more difficult to fill quickly.

This seems to have been confirmed by the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey which suggests that we are seeing added stability in the local labour market. In an article in today's Exchange magazine, the local Manpower representative said they expect an "upbeat hiring climate for the second quarter of 2010". To read the article click on the link http://www.exchangemagazine.com/morningpost/2010/week10/Tuesday/030901.htm#anchor

If you're interested in learning more about the "Changing Landscape of Employment", we are hosting an event on March 15 which will report back on our consultations and the challenges and opportunities facing local industry. For more information or to register click here http://www.workforceplanningboard.com/Files/English/LMI.pdf

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me at carol@workforceplanningboard.com