{"id":105782,"date":"2022-10-11T15:46:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T19:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/ontario-retailers-struggling-to-ramp-up-without-enough-workers-to-fill-jobs\/"},"modified":"2022-10-11T15:46:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T19:46:32","slug":"ontario-retailers-struggling-to-ramp-up-without-enough-workers-to-fill-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/fr\/ontario-retailers-struggling-to-ramp-up-without-enough-workers-to-fill-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Retailers Struggling To Ramp Up Without Enough Workers To Fill Jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ontario retailers are getting worried \u2013 and hoping the province will attract more economic immigrants – as the number of jobs going begging for a lack of workers climbs ahead of the Christmas shopping season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Statistics Canada figures reveal the number of job vacancies in Ontario jumped almost 46.4 per cent from 264,530 during the second quarter of last year to 387,235 for the same period this year.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s despite there being many more Ontarians holding down jobs.<\/p>\n

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The number of payroll employees in Ontario climbed more than 8.6 per cent, by 506,895 workers, from almost 5.9 million in the second quarter of last year to almost 6.4 million during the comparable quarter this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The labour shortage also seems to be getting worse in Canada\u2019s biggest province, with job vacancies rising almost 15 per cent from the first to the second quarter of this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab\u00a0With some of the busiest shopping months upon us, retailers are particularly concerned with this issue,\u00a0\u00bb Retail Council of Canada spokesperson Michelle Wasylyshen reportedly told CBC News<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Ontario Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Rocco Rossi agrees.<\/p>\n

In early August, he fired off a letter to Ontario Immigration Minister Monte McNaughton, urging him to make pilot immigration programs permanent.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers in small and rural communities who are unable to attract residents from major urban centres are often denied the opportunity to hire temporary foreign workers because Labour Market Impact Assessments<\/a> (LMIAs) show that sufficient talent is available within Ontario to fill the role, even if these individuals are unwilling to relocate to that area,\u201d wrote Rossi.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegional pilots have been introduced to help fill local labour shortages and support economic growth in select rural and small communities. We believe these pilots should be made permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business Groups Wants To See Higher Allocations Under OINP<\/h3>\n

The chamber president also called on the immigration minister to boost the province\u2019s allocation under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program<\/a> (OINP).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Canada, the federal government gives each province a set allocation of economic immigrants they are allowed to accept each year,\u201d wrote Rossi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2021, that allocation to Ontario was 9,000, wholly insufficient given the available opportunities in Ontario for gainful employment. While the province has called on the federal government to double the amount, the actual need is likely much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

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