A record number of 399, 000 positions to be filled in Canada

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QMI agency

Tuesday, 13 march 2018 08:25

UPDATE
Tuesday, 13 march 2018 08:27

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The job vacancy rate in Canada’s private sector grew by 3 % in the fourth quarter of 2017, for a total of 399 000 positions to be filled, according to a report by the canadian Federation of independent business (CFIB).

The document reported a slight increase in Québec, where 94 700 vacancies were in the private sector, which corresponds to a rate of 3.4 %, while it recorded a rate of 2.5 % in the fourth quarter of 2016.

“The problem of the shortage of labour is growing. This is the second consecutive quarter that the vacancy rate exceeds the peak recorded in early 2008, before the recession,” said on Tuesday Simon Gaudreault, director of economic affairs at the CFIB.

“The shortages of labor continues to put upward pressure on wages, while firms with vacancies were planning to offer a pay rise average 0.5% higher than companies that are not” noted CFIB.

The most significant increase has been recorded in British Columbia, where the job vacancy rate was 3.9 % (69 500 posts) in the fourth quarter of 2017.

A more modest increase of 0.1 percentage points was registered in Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta and Manitoba.

For Canada as a whole, the largest increases were observed in the sectors of personal services, information, arts and entertainment, and retail.

The CFIB report is based on a survey conducted among a random sample of owner-operators members of the federation.