In the third quarter of 2021, the number of job openings in Canada reaches an all-time high
Job openings reached new highs at the same time that overall employment increased and unemployment fell
As per a new Statistics Canada study, Canada recorded an all-time record of 912,600 available jobs in the third quarter of 2021.
This occurred as Canada’s economy recovered and public health restrictions were eased. The record-high number of job openings can be attributed to rising overall employment and declining unemployment.
According to Statistics Canada, there were 912,600 job openings in Q3 2021, up 62.1 per cent (349,700 positions) from Q3 2019. Saskatchewan had the highest proportional growth in employment vacancies, followed by Quebec and Ontario.
Between Q3 2019 and Q3 2021, job vacancies grew in 18 of the 20 major industrial sectors. Food and accommodation services, healthcare and welfare support, building, retail trade, and manufacturing accounted for approximately 68 percent of the rise.
The healthcare and social assistance industries are experiencing substantial labor shortages. In Q3 2021, there were 118,200 job openings, and payroll employment approached pre-COVID levels in December 2020, indicating that the sector is experiencing labor shortages. Because of Canada’s elderly population, there was an increasing demand for personnel in this field even before the epidemic. Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (22,800) and nursing aides, orderlies, and patient service associates (24,100) were among the occupations with the biggest vacancies in Q3 2021.
Over the last two years, food and accommodation services accounted for about a quarter of all job openings. According to Statistics Canada, the greater number of job vacancies was probably related to staffing problems associated with companies reopening in the industry over the summer, as well as the industry’s regular higher labor demand.
Offering higher wages is one approach for firms to fill employment shortages. According to Statistics Canada, the record-high job openings have heightened interest in the extent to which skills shortages may lead to wage inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is used to gauge inflation in Canada, increased by 4.3 percent between Q3 2019 and Q3 2021. In 155 of the 373 jobs for which pay data was available during the comparative period, wage growth outpaced CPI growth. Construction trades assistance and laborers, cooks, retail salespersons, and nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service employees all saw the most employment openings. The hourly wage for all workers in these professions increased by 8.4%, while the average offered to pay for these jobs increased by 9.7%.
Statistics Canada finished the research by adding that the labour market in Canada has been strengthening since the third quarter of 2021. The unemployment rate, for example, was 6.0 percent, within 0.3 percentage points of its pre-COVID February 2020 level of 5.7 percent.
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that COVID cases are on the rise in Canada, with the Omicron variation becoming more common as well. As a result, more public safety measures are being implemented, which may have an impact on Canada’s employment picture in future Statistics Canada studies.