According to the latest job vacancy report, Canada’s job vacancy still remains high. Similar to previous quarters, Q3 of 2022 follows the same pattern. Despite over 1 million open positions in Canada, employers have trouble finding workers to fill them.
The following conditions define a vacant job:
- There is a specific position available;
- Within 30 days, the work could begin;
- To fill the position, the employer is actively seeking outside candidates.
While the number of open positions has decreased by 3.3% from the record number (993,200) seen at the beginning of the year, the demand for labor is still high. Each open position in Canada had 1.1 applicants in the third quarter of 2022.
To attract more workers, employers increase average wages
The tight labor market and hiring difficulties have prompted many companies to raise compensation for open positions. Hourly wages increased by 7.5% to $24.20 in comparison with last year.
There was a significant increase in earnings offered in several categories of in-demand occupations, including:
- Managerial salaries in industries such as trades, transportation, production, and utilities increased by 10.8% to $41.40;
- The number of occupations supporting health services increased by 10.7% to $22.45 per hour;
- The number of assembly workers in manufacturing has increased by 10.4% to 20.05 per hour; and
- A total of $20.02 per hour was gained by machine operators and other production workers in processing and manufacturing.
A 5.3% increase in the average hourly wage for all workers occurred during the same time period.
Canada’s highest job vacancy sectors?
The fact that there are several unfilled positions in Canada’s social assistance and healthcare industries is notable. The number of open positions was more than 150,100 in the third quarter of 2022. As COVID-19 has spread across the world, the need for more healthcare professionals has persistently increased. With the intention of addressing this historic labor shortage, IRCC has removed restrictions on physicians obtaining permanent residence and invested millions to streamline the accreditation of healthcare professionals who have foreign education.
There were also many openings in the following sectors:
- 140,000 vacancies in accommodation and food services;
- The construction industry saw 81,000 vacancies, a historic high;
- The industry has 63,100 vacancies for scientific and technical jobs.
Provinces with the most job openings
In Q3, certain provinces experienced greater increases than others in unfilled positions, although the trend is still high across the country.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan both experienced an increase of 10.7% and 7.5% in the number of open positions in Q3. There is an increasing labor shortage across the country as evidenced by the significant increase in percentage from quarter to quarter.
It was simultaneously reported that there were fewer job openings in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec than in the second quarter of 2022. Although there have been declines, there are still many positions available in Canada:
- 155,400 vacancies in British Columbia;
- Vacancies in Manitoba: 32,400;
- Vacancies in Ontario: 364,000;
- Vacancies in Quebec: 232,400;
- Vacancies in Saskatchewan: 24,300;
- There are 103,380 vacancies in Alberta;
- 16,430 job openings in New Brunswick;
- There is an estimated 8,185 vacancy in Newfoundland and Labrador*;
- Vacancies in the Northwest Territories: 1,820;
- A total of 22,960 vacancies are available in Nova Scotia;
- Vacancies in Nunavut: 405;
- A total of 4,090 job openings are available in Prince Edward Island;
- The number of vacancies in Yukon is 1,720.
At 6.2% and 5.8%, respectively, British Columbia and Quebec still have the highest job vacancy rates (defined as the ratio of open positions to the total labor demand, including both empty and filled positions).
Taking a look ahead
Canada seeks to alleviate labor shortages by focusing on immigration. As Express Entry’s system of programs expands, targeted draws for high-demand Canadian occupations are anticipated to become more prevalent in 2023.
After these adjustments, the IRCC can identify professions that are most likely to receive ITAs in 2023 based on the number of job openings within a particular industry.
As part of its efforts to optimize the labor force already present in Canada, Canada has already granted Open Work Permits (OPWs) to families of individuals with LMIA-based work permits and removed the time limit on international students’ employment until December 31, 2023, among other measures.
A favorable hiring environment is predicted for 2023 due to these policy improvements as well as the aforementioned facts.
