Canadians are more optimistic this year about their job security as well as hiring and growth prospects at their companies, and many expect a raise, a survey to coincide with Labour Day suggests.
The Bank of Montreal poll found nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, of respondents comfortable with their job security.
Forty-one per cent believe their company is growing and will be hiring. Both measures were up 13 percentage points from the number of employees who expressed confidence last Labour Day.
Thirty-nine per cent expect a promotion or raise this year, up 11 percentage points from last year.
The results come despite lingering economic uncertainty.
The Canadian economy shed 30,400 jobs last month, which pushed the unemployment rate up one tenth of a point to 7.3 per cent. It was the first major hit in nearly a year for what had been a mostly positive employment record.
The economy has been growing at a rate below two per cent since last fall.
Canadian workers are relatively well-off compared with their American and European counterparts, as the Canadian unemployment rate is one percentage point lower than in the U.S. and four percentage points lower than in the eurozone, said BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri. "Canadian job security is fairly good, with our 7.3 per cent unemployment rate below historic norms," he said.
"Canadians should expect wages to rise modestly faster than inflation, supporting household purchasing power, with the strongest gains in Alberta and Saskatchewan."
Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they expect their company will lay off employees, while 24 per cent expressed concern about their job security.
One in five felt they were working in a "dead-end" job, indicating that their company would not be in a position to dole out promotions, raises or bonuses.
Pollara Strategic Insights conducted the online survey of 1,000 Canadians from July 31 to Aug. 3. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent 19 times out of 20.
