Businesses in Canada remain bullish about the future, shaking off concerns about U.S. protectionism, rising interest rates and the stronger Canadian dollar, according to the Bank of Canada's fall business outlook survey.

The overall mood has cooled a bit from the summer, but the results still "point to continued positive business sentiment across the country, with business activity becoming entrenched," according to the report released on Monday.

The bank characterized business sentiment as "healthy."

 For some companies, finding enough good people is becoming a significant challenge. The intensity of labour shortages is now at its highest level since the 2008-09 recession, as companies report growing problems finding qualified workers, particularly in tourism, construction and technology.

"Capacity and labour market pressures have intensified over the past year, suggesting that slack is being absorbed amid robust demand," the bank said.

Typical of the challenge is fast-growing technology company SOTI Inc. of Mississauga, which manages mobile communications for governments and businesses in 22 countries. The company is adding workers at roughly 30 per cent a year to keep up with its growing sales, but struggles to find enough qualified software developers, architects and quality-control personnel.

"I've been in human resources for 15 years and this is definitely the most intense it's been," said Michelle Brooks, SOTI's vice-president of global human resources. "The universities are doing a good job of bringing out great tech talent, but the demand is too intense … It's like going to war every day."

From the Globe and Mail

加拿大银行秋季商业展望报告显示，即使面临美国的贸易保护，利率的增长以及强劲的加元走势，加国的商业依然欣欣向荣，报告同时指出，即使在夏季稍有冷却的情况下，整体预估都是乐观向上的，整体商业状态也是健康的，目前对于很多的商家来说，找到合适的员工变成了一个挑战.目前市场面临着自2008-2009年经济衰退以后最大的劳工短缺，这包括了各行各业：旅游，建筑和科技。

其中典型的例子就是快速增长的位于密西沙加的SOTI Inc技术公司，管理着22个国家政府和商业的Mobile Communication.公司每年以百分之三十的速度增加员工，以应付快速增长，但是依然因为员工不足而困扰。Michelle Brooks说：“我已经在HR工作了15年了，目前真的是（人力）最紧缺的时候，各个大学已经尽力培养和输送人才了，但是需求太旺，每天就像是在打仗。”

节选自The Globe and Mail