According to the State of Hiring Survey conducted by Robert Half, more than half of Canadian companies are planning to increase hiring in the first half of 2024. The study found that 54% of hiring managers are planning to hire for new permanent positions in the first 6 months of 2024, while another 40% anticipate hiring for vacated positions. Most notably, only 1% of hiring managers noted that they plan to eliminate positions in 2024.  Managers planning to recruit in 2024 noted company growth as the primary factor for hiring (61%), the secondary factor noted was a lack of requisite skills among current staff (50%). Hiring managers are looking to capitalize on the job market to attract top talent laid off from other companies (48%). Furthermore, the study reviewed hiring challenges in the current job market; according to the survey, 89% of organizations are experiencing difficulty finding skilled professionals, and 64% of hiring managers noted that it is taking longer to hire for open roles in comparison to last year.