Fifty-one percent of Canadian businesses plan to hire students or recent graduates this year, according to a report by BMO Financial Group. Thirty percent of employers plan to hire a paid summer student, 21 percent plan to hire a recent graduate as a permanent employee and 18 percent plan to hire a recent graduate as a paid intern.

Regionally, job prospects for students and graduates are the brightest in Ontario (56 percent), followed by the Atlantic Provinces (53 percent) and Quebec (52 percent).

Twenty-five percent of manufacturing employers plan to hire a recent graduate as a permanent employee, followed by services at 24 percent and retail and business/financial industries at 23 percent.

The service and manufacturing sectors are the most likely to hire a paid summer student, followed by the agricultural sector. Business/financial, retail and construction companies are the most likely to hire a recent graduate as a paid intern.

The report was conducted via Pollara among 500 Canadian business owners and conducted between Feb. 25 and March 15, 2013.