Job requirements in Canada reached 957,500 in the first quarter, as per the statistics of Canada it is the highest record number.
The number of job requirements, showing approximately 401,900 designations, has increased by more than 72% as compared to the first quarter of 2020. Job vacancies in the first quarter of 2022 crossed the high record number of about 3% in the fourth quarter of 2021 which shows 24,900 more vacancies.
There are 136,800 job vacancies in the healthcare and social assistance sector which represent all-time high vacancies. The labor shortage in the sector was high before the pandemic, but COVID-19 drove demand even further. As compared to the first quarter of 2020, the job requirements increased by about 91% in the 2022’s Q1.
The construction sector is also showing a high record number of job requirements. The construction employers of Canada were looking for 81,500 employees to fill their vacancies in the first quarter. The growth of the construction sector is more than 7% from Q4, 2021.
Job requirements in the manufacturing and retail business fields are on an upward trend. Vacancies in manufacturing hit 87,400 in the previous quarter, and retail business employers were seeking 114,600 jobs.
Little update in the service of professional, scientific, and technical. Companies in this field were looking to fill 68,800 designations, an update from the record highs in the previous quarter.
There were about 133,800 vacancies in Q1 in housing and food services. In spite of large numbers, it was actually down about 12% from the last quarter of 2021.
Nationally, the ratio of job requirements in the first quarter was 1.3 which decrease from 2.2 in the same quarter of 2020, prior to the pandemic. This means that the number of unemployed workers decreases as job vacancies continue to increase.
The unemployment-to-job requirement ratio was also different among provinces of Canada. While Quebec and British Columbia had less than one unemployed person for each job vacancy, Newfoundland and Labrador had about four unemployed people for each vacancy. A low ratio indicates a tighter labor market and potential labor shortage.
Canadian employers face significant recruitment challenges. For every 100 vacancies of jobs, there were about 34 new employees hired in the first quarter. As compared to the first quarter of the previous year 48 new employees are hired for every 100 vacancies and 82 employees were hired in Q1 of 2016.
Given the high-demand sectors, employers of housing and food services hired about 100 new employees for every 23 vacancies. 23 employees are hired for health care and social support. Employers of professional, scientific, and technical services hired about 50.
According to the service business condition of Canada from 4 January to 7 February, recruiting skilled workers was expected to be a barrier for about two-fifth of businesses, and maintaining employees looked forward to being a deterrent for about 30%.
