The Canadian job market isn’t looking as great right now as it did in March and April of this year. The most recent news showed that job creation has slowed down a bit.

This sounds dire, but it’s not all bad news. Hiring might have slowed down but companies are still hiring according to BMO Bank of Montreal. Their Hiring Intentions Survey found that 46 per cent plan on hiring in 2012.

“Our research shows that while Canadian companies continue to remain cautiously optimistic, we are seeing a willingness to make deliberate and targeted investments to grow their business,” said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal in the release. “The new job numbers out today reinforce our outlook, and show that many companies are still looking to hire student employees for the summer ahead.”

By targeted investment, that means specific educational requirements. The survey found that 70 per cent of Canadian businesses are looking for people with post-secondary degrees. One-third of those were looking for specialized educational backgrounds. Out of the companies surveyed, 40 per cent were in the oil/gas, mining and construction industries.

Nationally, the survey found that British Columbia and Manitoba were the provinces with the biggest hiring plans – 55 per cent of companies saying they were planning on hiring. Only 44 per cent of Alberta companies said they were planning on hiring and Saskatchewan was the lowest with only 33 per cent of surveyed companies planning on hiring for 2012.