Canadian job vacancy report by Statistics Canada claims that higher job vacancy rates led to increased hourly wages. Moreover, Canada witnessed a trend of labor shortages in the entire year of 2022. Also, employers in Canada are urgently looking forward to hiring nearly a million job vacancies, approximately 959,600.
Additionally, a job is considered vacant under the following conditions:
- If a particular job position remains unfilled.
- Work will begin within 30 days.
- The employer is in ardent need of workers outside his own company to fill the urgent job position.
At the beginning of the year (2022), the vacancy rate dropped to 3.3 percent from a higher vacancy of 993,200 positions. However, the labor requirement remains higher. Also, Canada comprised 1.1 individuals per every job vacancy in the third quarter of 2022.
Canadian job vacancy report- increase in average wages
The Canadian labor market is undergoing a tough time as employers face severe challenges in hiring employees. Several employers are looking forward to increasing their employees’ hourly wages.
In comparison to the previous year, in the same quarter, the average hourly wage rose up to $24.20 by at least 7.5 percent.
Moreover, a few in-demand occupation categories witnessed increases in wages, beyond the national average. They’re as follows:
- Middles management positions in transportation, trade, production, and utilities (above 10.8 percent to $41.40 per hour).
- Health services including assisting occupations (above 10.7 percent to $22.45 on an hourly basis).
- Assemblers’ occupation in the manufacturing industry (above 10.4 percent to 20.05 on an hourly basis).
- Machine operators and production workers in the processing and manufacturing industries (above 10.2 percent to $20.02 on an hourly basis).
Overall, the average hourly wages for all workers increased by 5.3 percent in the same period.
Sectors consisting of higher job vacancies in Canada
The healthcare and social assistance sector even reached a higher level of job vacancies, with more than 150,100 vacant job positions in 2022, the first quarter.
Furthermore, there has been a constant demand for healthcare workers since the pandemic. Consequently, IRCC even took initiatives to remove barriers for Physicians to acquire permanent residence. The department also initiated by investing millions into providing accreditation for foreign healthcare professionals having acquired education from abroad. This measure is a part of Canada’s efforts to solve the historic labor shortage.
Several other industries also witnessed a drastic increase in employment, including:
- Construction industry with a historical record of 81,000 job vacancies.
- The accommodation and food sector experienced a record-high number of 140,000 vacant job positions.
- Professional Scientific and Technical Services witnessed 63,100 vacant jobs.
Canadian job vacancy report- provinces with the maximum job vacancies
With the increase in job vacancies in Canada, specific provinces also observed increased growth in the number of open job vacancies compared to the ones open in the third quarter.
Additionally, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are two Canadian provinces witnessing higher job vacancies in the third quarter, with an increase of 10.7 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.
The persistent quarterly increase highlights the labor requirement. British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario witnessed a decline in vacant positions in the second quarter of 2022. However, with this slight decline in three provinces, the job vacancy rate across Canada remains higher.
- British Columbia- 155,400 vacancies;
- Manitoba- 32,400 job vacancies;
- Ontario- 364,000 vacancies;
- Quebec- 232,400 job vacancies;
- Saskatchewan- 24,300 vacancies;
- Alberta- 103,380 job vacancies*;
- New Brunswick- 16,430 job vacancies*;
- Newfoundland and Labrador- 8,185 vacancies*;
- Northwest Territories- 1,820 job vacancies*;
- Nova Scotia- 22,960 vacancies*;
- Nunavut- 405 job vacancies*; and
- Prince Edward Island- 4,090 vacancies*;
- Yukon- 1,720 job vacancies.
Ontario and British Columbia maintain the higher job vacancy rates, with 5.8 and 6.2 percent, respectively.
Future prospects
Canada is on track to address existing labor shortages, and the government relies substantially on immigration. Moreover, in 2023, the Express Entry system will reflect changes with an increased number of targeted draws for in-demand Canadian professions.
With the rising number of Canadian job vacancies, the data on the specific sector comprising maximum job vacancies will help in understanding the occupations IRCC will be targeting next year.
On the whole, Canada has already begun to implement measures to increase the Canadian workforce. They have already provided Open Work Permits to families of those work permit holders with LMIA. Moreover, they have also removed the limitation on the working hours for international students until December 31, 2023.
To conclude, all these policy changes and the above statistics reflect a favorable climate for hiring workers n 2023.
