Canada’s job vacancies declined for the third month as of December 2022. December was another fruitful month for Canada’s post-COVID recovery efforts. The total number of open posts decreased to 848,000, while payroll employment—the number of individuals getting compensation or benefits from their employer—increased. This happened as 91,400 positions were filled in the final month of 2022.
Despite labor shortages, specific industries in Canada still have a high concentration of persistently vacant positions. This is despite the labor market’s progress towards payroll employment expansion and reduced job vacancies. With many vacant in-demand posts and labor being a major problem, the impact of these factors has resulted in minimal change in the overall number of open positions from November (849,200) to December of 2022.
Sectors with consistent Canadian job vacancies despite employment gains
Notably, a job position falls under the vacant category under the following conditions:
- In case of a specific job position availability.
- If the work process has 30 days to begin.
- Supposedly, an employer is ardently seeking employees to fill job positions, from other than their organization.
Canada’s job vacancies prevalent in five sectors
Five sectors witnessed 55 percent of Canadian job vacancies; they’re as follows:
- Health care and social assistance- 149,800 vacancies
- Accommodation and food services- 108,000 vacancies
- Retail trade- 100,200 vacancies
- Construction- 77,400
- Manufacturing- 71,700
- Professional scientific and technical services- 58,100
Healthcare and Social Assistance sector
Canada is undergoing continuous stress regarding the shortage of healthcare and social assistance workers. After the country witnessed four months’ successive in payroll employment, this sector resumed the stressful journey to fill vacant positions. All this happened with an increase in positions by 18,200. Moreover, the increase in the number of vacancies displaced 19,400 employees post their recruitment in November.
This sector observed a total number of vacancies up to 149,800 as of December 2022. This accounts for the maximum number of Canadian vacancies in this specific sector. Although this sector witnessed an overall growth of 190,600 jobs in the previous two years, the overall vacancy rate saw only slight changes.
Hence, it is evident that there is an increasing demand for these Canadian workers.
Construction
The Canadian Construction industry is currently undergoing critical challenges with increased vacancies. This is the case despite four months’ continuous payroll employment gains. The total number of vacancies in this sector remains constant, from 79,000 vacancies as of November 2022. Meanwhile, the vacancies were 61,800 in December 2021.
The above figures make it evident that there has been a rise in demand and existing labor challenges.
Canada’s job vacancies declined due to strong hiring- sectors with maximum hiring
The following sectors witnessed observed increased hiring trends in Canada in December 2022:
- Health care and social assistance- +26,500 jobs
- Finance and insurance- +13,800 jobs
- Construction- +11,500 jobs
It’s important to note that out of the three industries that resulted in payroll employment growth in December, healthcare and construction are also at the top of the list for Canadian job openings. This is probably evidence that Canada’s economy is recovering, but that it is still being hampered by the country’s chronic labor shortage. It is a major factor in the anticipated increase in immigration in the future years.
The majority of employment increases for each of these sectors’ respective industries are a reflection of the payroll employment observed by each of these sectors. This suggests that Canada does not have enough people to handle this labor shortage. Furthermore, the industries that are driving growth in Canadian employment comprise the highest number of job openings.
There are additional arguments in favor of both industries experiencing rapid development in the ensuing months. The last year has seen consistent growth in non-residential construction investment of close to $600 million CAD. This is a promising sign for the industry as overall economic activity in Canada picks up. Moreover, investment in residential buildings has decreased recently (after reaching a high between July and August 2022).
Also, healthcare and social assistance is a sectors that the government has largely invested in. Moreover, it also supported it with favorable immigration policies to ensure that Canada consists of the number of workers required in that industry.
IRCC took numerous measures to balance the existing labor shortages-
- Removed barriers for Physicians for Express Entry application.
- Enhanced the accreditation potential for medical professionals with international training so that they can work in Canada.
- Reduced the work experience requirement for Caregivers concerning permanent residence to 50 percent.
Canadian provinces that witnessed the maximum hiring
The rise in payroll employment observed in December 2022 took place in the following provinces:
- Quebec- +8,800 jobs
- Ontario- +5,600 jobs
- British Columbia- +4,600 jobs
- Alberta- +3,800 jobs
Furthermore, Newfoundland and Labrador witnessed a slight decline in payroll employment by 100 jobs. This occurred after a fruitful November last year when the province drastically reduced its number of job vacancies.
Overall, this kind of rise in employment is highly motivating; they still aren’t sufficient for the number of Canadian job vacancies the country will require to fill in the future.
