Who is hiring across Canada and how AI skills can strengthen your job search

Insights into who is hiring

Here are some highlights of January 2026 job postings across finance, administrative, technology, legal, and marketing functions. These findings are based on Statistics Canada data and our analysis of over 64,400 positions from over 5,400 company and job boards posted in Canada.

So far in 2026, the Canadian economy has seen notable payroll expansion across several industries. Research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report found that 60 per cent of hiring managers plan to add permanent staff in the first half of 2026, and 55 per cent expect to bring in contract talent to support immediate needs.

Demand for professionals with specialized skills remains high, particularly for roles tied to critical business and digital initiatives. In a Robert Half survey, only 5 per cent of hiring managers said they have the talent needed to complete high-priority projects this year. Many also reported that skills gaps are more pronounced and hiring is harder than a year ago.

These are encouraging signs for the 33 per cent of employed Canadian workers launching a job search in the first half of 2026. However, many employers are still taking a selective approach to hiring after a year of economic uncertainty in 2025. In many cases, they’re slowing down to evaluate candidates’ skills more carefully, especially as the rise of AI in the workplace changes workflows and job responsibilities.

That selectivity can feel frustrating if you’re applying for roles and not hearing back quickly, or if hiring processes drag out.

The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that unemployment rates for Robert Half specializations, stayed well below the 6.7% national rate as of February 2026. Here’s the breakdown:

Finance and accounting: 3%

Technology: 3.1%

Marketing and creative: 2.2%

Legal: 1.8%

Administration: 3%

Customer support: 5.3%

Human resources: 3%

When unemployment in a field is low, it means employers are struggling to find candidates with the specific expertise they need. In other words, hiring challenges in 2026 are less about a lack of jobs and more about alignment between skills and business priorities.

Learn more: Canadian Remote Work Statistics and Trends

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Expanding industries in January 2026:

Business and professional services: +11,100 jobs

Wholesale and retail trade: +4,000 jobs

Finance and insurance: +3,000 jobs

Manufacturing and distribution: +2,000 jobs

Construction: 1,500 jobs

Tech & IT: 1,100 jobs

Top jobs in January 2026:

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Software engineer: +2,200 jobs

Customer service specialist: +2,200 jobs

Administrative assistant: +2,100 jobs

Project coordinator: +1,400 jobs

Receptionist: +1,100 jobs

Accounting clerk: +700 jobs

Executive assistant: +600 jobs

Marketing manager: +550 jobs

Bookkeeper: +500 jobs

AR/AP clerk: +450 jobs

Stay ahead of the competition and make informed decisions about your career path. See Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report for valuable insights into industries hiring now.

In many industries hiring now, employers are looking for AI skills and literacy

If there’s one capability that’s moved from “nice to have” to genuinely career-driving this year, it’s AI literacy—the ability to understand, apply and critique AI as part of your everyday work. Employers are increasingly thinking about talent through this lens, and it’s influencing how roles are defined, how candidates are evaluated, and how teams operate once someone is hired.

Here’s why AI literacy matters, and why you should prioritize developing it:

1. It helps you adapt as workflows change

In many professional fields, from technology to legal, AI is taking on more routine tasks, including drafting content, analyzing data and streamlining repeatable steps. Professionals who know how to use AI tools effectively can work faster and more efficiently, but importantly, they also have more time to devote to high-value work for the business.

2. It can increase your marketability

As AI becomes more common in daily work, many teams are adding AI-related expectations to roles not traditionally technical. Showing familiarity with AI-supported workflows, automation tools and data-driven decision making can broaden the range of roles you are competitive for as a job seeker and put you on track for future-forward professional growth once you’re hired.

3. It requires you to use both technical and soft skills

AI doesn’t replace the need for soft skills like communication and collaboration. In fact, it makes them more important to job performance and career success. Across the professions featured in Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent report, leaders are looking for candidates with soft skills like critical thinking and problem solving to help their organization ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively.

Human + AI roles are likely to move mainstream this year. Read more about this and other workplace trend predictions for 2026.

What AI skills and literacy looks like in 3 top jobs

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AI literacy becomes easier to understand when you can visualize how and where AI can show up in real work. We offer 3 examples from January’s list of top jobs:

Software engineer

AI can speed up routine development work for software engineers, such as drafting or refactoring code, generating tests and summarizing logs during debugging. AI literacy in this role includes knowing how to prompt effectively, validate output quality and apply standards that align with security and performance expectations.

Customer service specialist

In the customer service field, AI literacy means knowing when to rely on suggestions and when to override them to protect accuracy and preserve customer trust. AI can support agents with suggested replies, case summaries, knowledge base surfacing and smarter routing—but customers still expect empathy and resolution in agent interactions.

Staff accountant

AI can streamline tasks like transaction coding, reconciliations and anomaly detection. AI literacy for staff accountants includes knowing how to use tools to speed up routine work, but also applying judgment to validate results and document anything that needs follow-up.

Searching for jobs like these? Explore our latest listings.

How to build AI skills and literacy quickly

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You don’t need a computer science background to develop meaningful AI literacy. Here are some practical approaches for building a foundational skill set likely to resonate with many employers:

Use AI in real work scenarios. Try using AI tools for drafting, research summaries, data exploration, project planning or process documentation. Pay attention to where it helps and where it creates risk or extra review work. If you’re currently employed, be sure to use approved tools in your workplace. If you’re not, experiment with tools popular in your target industry.

Build a baseline with structured learning. Short courses and certificates can help you understand concepts like prompting, bias, privacy and verification so you can use tools more responsibly. Many universities and online learning platforms now offer introductory AI courses that cover generative AI fundamentals, ethical considerations and practical workplace use cases.

Show proof, not buzzwords. On your resume and in interviews, share 1-2 specific examples of how you used AI to improve a process, speed up a task or support better decisions. Focus on outcomes, not tool names. For example, you might explain how you used AI to draft a first-pass client email that you refined, summarize a set of notes into action items, speed up research by organizing key themes or flag anomalies in a dataset before validating them yourself.

Practice explaining your guardrails. You may hear the term “guardrails” in discussions about the responsible use of AI. This refers to common-sense protections that keep AI from introducing errors, bias or risk. To demonstrate you understand the importance of these boundaries and how to apply them, be ready to describe how you validate results, protect sensitive information and decide what must be handled manually.

Across industries hiring now, AI is becoming part of the work environment itself. At a time when only 6% of organizations say they have the talent they need to complete priority projects and skills gaps remain pronounced, candidates who can combine domain expertise with AI literacy stand out. The ability to use AI tools thoughtfully and question outputs and improve workflows, positions you as someone who can contribute immediatelyand grow as the work evolves.

Stay informed about the latest labour market trends with Robert Half

Want more data and insights on how the Canadian hiring environment is evolving in 2026? Visit Robert Half’s Labour Market Overview page to get a snapshot view of current hiring trends and access our expanded coverage on industries hiring, remote work statistics and trends, and more.

More tips for job search success in 2026

Economic conditions and the labour market are always evolving. But the trends and indicators outlined above suggest industries are hiring, and employers will be looking to hire skilled talent in the months ahead, too. To maximize your job search success, consider the following strategies:

Expand your industry focus: If opportunities are limited in your current field, explore adjacent industries where your skills and experience may be transferable. Fields like administrative and customer support or technology are actively hiring across multiple roles.

Showcase your impact in job applications: Resumes and cover letters should emphasize specific contributions you made in previous roles—like cost savings, process improvements or revenue growth. These details about how you’ve added value can help you stand out.

Leverage your personal and professional networks: Reaching out to former colleagues, mentors and industry connections in your network or through professional organizations can help you uncover hidden job opportunities.

Sharpen your digital presence: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and ready to catch a hiring manager’s eye. Highlight your key achievements and relevant skills and consider sharing industry insights or engaging in discussions to help increase your visibility.

Stay proactive with continuous learning: Many employers seek candidates with up-to-date skills who can hit the ground running once they’re hired. Consider investing in relevant certifications or online courses to help upskill and fortify your qualifications to improve your marketability when competing for jobs in industries hiring now.

For more help landing a job, read Best Job Search Sites Canada-Based Professionals Should Use

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Methodology: Our analysis is based on 64,000 job postings within Canada, provided by Textkernel, from over 5,400 company websites and job boards posted in Canada between December 1^st 2025 and January 1^st 2026.

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