The nightmare for Canadian employers looking for workers – and the boon for foreign nationals hoping to immigrate to Canada under economic programs – raged on as job vacancies stayed above the one-million mark for the third consecutive month in June.
In its Payroll Employment, Earnings and Hours, and Job Vacancies, June 2022 report, Statistics Canada noted on Thursday there were both more workers in paid jobs in Canada – and more jobs going begging for a want of workers to fill them – during that month.
Read More
IRCC Adding 1,250 Employees To Cut Canada Immigration Backlogs, Reduce Processing Times
IRCC Reassures International Graduates Over New Open Work Permits
Immigration Forecast To Double Canada’s Population In 46 Years
“Vacancies increased 3.2 per cent, up 32,200 jobs, in June, and employers in Canada were actively recruiting for more than one million, exactly 1,037,900, vacant positions for the third consecutive month,” noted the statistical and demographic services agency.
“Total labour demand (the sum of filled and vacant positions) reached a record high of nearly 17.7 million in June, 1.4 per cent, or 238,700 jobs, higher than in May and up 9.4 per cent, or 1,526,000 jobs, on a year-over-year basis.”
Job creation in June was greatest in the service sector which added 88,000 jobs. Educational services added 26,400 jobs, accommodation and food services another 16,600, professional, scientific and technical services added 8,800, and healthcare and social services grew by 8,400 jobs.
If you are a candidate looking for a Canada job, or an employer looking to recruit foreign talent from abroad, immigration.ca can help. Access our expertise through our in-house recruitment enterprise www.skilledworker.com, “the leader in foreign recruitment”.
The only service sector to shrink during that month was public administration which shed 3,900 jobs.
In the goods-producing sector, construction companies added 7,800 workers and mining, quarrying and oil and gas companies hired another 1,900 in June.
With the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the already-fragile healthcare system, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare and social assistance employers were left scrambling to fill 149,700 vacant in June, having made little headway in resolving their labour shortages from the record high reached in March.
Healthcare And Social Assistance Employers Were Looking To Hire 149,700 Workers In June
The number of healthcare and social assistance jobs going begging for a want of employees is now 40.8 per cent, or 43,400 positions, higher than it was in June last year.
As the summer tourist season entered full swing, hotels, motels, restaurants and catering companies really started to feel the pinch of the labour shortage.
“In the accommodation and food services sector, vacancies increased 6.6 per cent, up 10,600 to 171,700, in June and were up 38.8 per cent, or up 48,000 positions, on a year-over-year basis,” noted Statistics Canada. “The job vacancy rate in the sector was 12.2 per cent, more than double the all-sectors average.”
Watch Video
With the Canadian economy slowly returning to a semblance of normal, stores throughout Canada tried desperately to hire staff.
“In retail trade, vacancies rose 15.3 per cent, up 15,200 jobs to 114,400, in June, despite payroll employment in the sector returning to its February 2020 pre-pandemic level for the first time,” notes Statistics Canada.
“Vacancies were 22.5 per cent, up 21,000 positions, higher than in June 2021, and the job vacancy rate was 5.4 per cent.”
Available Jobs Match Number of Unemployed in Canada
Across the country, the labour shortage could only be curtailed if every single unemployed person in Canada were to get a job tomorrow, claims the federal agency.
“Nationally, the unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio reached a record low of one in June, meaning that there was one unemployed person for each vacant job. This ratio was 1.9 in June 2021.”
Unemployed workers, though, are often not in the same province as the jobs being offered and there is often a mismatch between their particular skills and experience and those required by employers.
In Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the labour market is particularly tight. In those four provinces, there simply are not enough unemployed people to fill the available jobs even if every unemployed person there had the skills and experience for those jobs and landed a position tomorrow.
“The unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio was below one in four provinces in June, namely in Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba,” states Statistics Canada.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, however, there were 2.7 unemployed workers for every available job in June, the highest unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio among provinces.
Employers hoping to hire a foreign national can avail themselves of this international talent and labour through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), and; the International Mobility Program (IMP).
The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the (TFWP), can under normal processing situations lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.
Employers can also bring in foreign nationals to fill available positions through the Express Entry system, which receives immigration applications online.
Applicants who meet eligibility criteria submit an online profile known as an Expression of interest (EOI), under one of three federal immigration programs or a participating provincial immigration program, to the Express Entry Pool.
The candidates’ profiles then are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranked candidates are considered for Invitations to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees within a delay of 90 days.
