2026 Canada Administrative and Customer Support Hiring and Employment Trends

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3.2%* December 2025 unemployment rate (Administration)

3.8%* December 2025 unemployment rate (Customer Support)

Administrative and customer support leaders are navigating rising expectations with limited resources. Leaders are being asked to improve efficiency, deliver stronger customer experiences and support broader business priorities, often while adopting new technologies and managing skills gaps. As roles expand beyond traditional support to include workflow automation, data platforms and cross-functional coordination, the need for adaptable, digitally fluent professionals is growing.

To meet new demands, leaders are prioritizing a mix of hiring, upskilling and flexible staffing. Success depends on securing talent with strong communication skills, sound judgement and the ability to leverage AI, helping organizations maintain consistent support while operating smarter and faster.

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Strategic priorities for 2026

Administrative and customer support leaders shared their strategic priorities for 2026. Expect demand—and competition—to increase for professionals with the specialized skills needed to advance these critical initiatives.

Improving team efficiency and workflow automation

Developing staff skills and growth opportunities

Implementing or optimizing technology and collaboration tools

Enhancing customer service and satisfaction

Supporting employee well-being and reduced burnout

Administrative and customer support teams face skills shortfalls that can stall critical initiatives. Only 8% of leaders reported having the necessary headcount and skill sets to accomplish priority projects this year, and 65% said they need to upskill current team members.

Flexible staffing solutions can also help teams gain the necessary expertise to keep operations running smoothly.

Problem
solving and
critical thinking Communication Quality
assurance
standards Customer
service Soft skills
and
leadership Problem
solving and
critical thinking Communication Quality
assurance
standards Customer
service Soft skills
and
leadership

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Critical
thinking and
problem solving Adaptability
and continuous
learning Creativity and
innovation Communication Emotional
intelligence Critical
thinking and
problem solving Adaptability
and continuous
learning Creativity and
innovation Communication Emotional
intelligence

Skills in highest demand

Recruiting professionals with specialized abilities enables leaders to advance strategic initiatives. An analysis of thousands of job postings over the past year shows which technical proficiencies employers value most in administrative and customer support—making a competitive hiring strategy essential.

Administrative operations

Customer experience

Front office management

Google suite

Microsoft Excel

Project management

Workflows

Hiring plans for 2026

53%

of administrative and customer support leaders said finding skilled talent is more difficult today than a year ago.

49%

expect to increase headcount in the first half of 2026.

49%

plan to increase contract hiring.

Roles shaping hiring strategies

The following positions have experienced above-average sequential growth and consistent demand throughout the past 12 months, according to an analysis of thousands of job postings and Robert Half placements:

Administrative assistant

Customer service manager

Customer service specialist

Executive assistant

Front desk coordinator

Office manager

Project coordinator

Receptionist

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More to explore

Labour market overview Stay on top of Robert Half and Statistics Canada job posting data to learn about today’s hiring market.

Staffing for small businesses Stay competitive in today’s hiring landscape with trends and strategies specifically tailored for small businesses.

2026 Canada Salary Guide Explore the latest data for roles across 6 professional fields and what you should pay or earn in local and national markets.

In-demand administrative and customer support roles Dive deeper into the administrative and customer support roles most in demand. Also learn what proficiencies and skills are growing in demand.

*Statistics Canada, seasonally adjusted, January 2026.

The surveys cited were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.

Over 650,000 new positions from more than 4,900 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including thousands of placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 365 job titles within Robert Half’s Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources professions.