OpenAI enters the hiring world, the major project office (MPO) and economic reports showcasing conflicting business sentiments
🚰 On tap this week
Good morning ☀️,
OpenAI is planning to build a job platform to match AI-ready talent with employers, but also certify them with the goal of having 10M people in the US through their program. We dig into how and why it is relevant for recruitment firms, and if this is the next existential threat or another hidden opportunity.
We also come back to Carney’s announcement of the major project office, which could be a boon for staffers who understand its functioning. Finally, we have a handful of economic articles on tap depicting how complex Canada’s labour situation is today, wavering between growth and decline, day by day.
Happy reading!
Minh Dang - Editor in Chief - The Canadian Labour and Staffing Journal
Write to: mdang@staffingjournal.ca
OpenAI enters hiring: what this means for the recruiting world
The company behind ChatGPT is now stepping directly into hiring, unveiling an AI-powered jobs platform meant to connect businesses with workers who are ready to thrive in an AI-augmented economy. The initiative includes a track for local businesses and even government needs, a move that could open the door for collaboration but also raise the specter of…
Canada’s new major project office: a golden opportunity for staffing firms
In late August 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a sweeping initiative to turbocharge the delivery of major infrastructure and energy projects. At the heart of this effort is the new Major Projects Office, headquartered in Calgary, designed as a streamlined gateway to get nationally significant projects moving with unprecedented speed. The goal: cut regulatory timelines, coordinate financing, and deliver nation‑building outcomes with efficiency and clarity.
Canada’s labour market in flux: a 3-month view and the road ahead
As Statistics Canada released its August labour figures on September 5, the headlines delivered a jarring blow: Canada shed a net 66,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.1 percent, its highest point in nearly a decade outside the pandemic. But to understand where the economy may be heading, the story must be told not just in August but across th…
A fragile reprieve: Canada’s trade data in early Q3 confirms “stabilization”
In early Q3, Canada caught a welcome, though fragile, breath of economic stabilization. According to RBC, the country’s trade deficit narrowed substantially in July, helped by a modest rebound in exports to the United States and a slower pace of imports. While goods exports remained nearly 5 percent below last year’s levels, they ticked up 0.9 percent f…
Services face 9th straight month of decline; and yet hiring holds steady
In August 2025, Canada’s services industry continued its stretch of contraction, marking the ninth consecutive month of decline. The S&P Global Canada Services PMI dropped to 48.6, down from 49.3 in July, a signal that softness is holding firm, not easing yet.