Canada reports higher hourly wages in response to the growing difficulty in hiring, as employers must fill close to a million vacant job positions.
The latest report for the July- September period by Statistics Canada reflects continuing labor shortages in Canada, with 959,600 job vacancies. These vacancies force employers to search for workers outside the organization to fill specific positions for work starting within a month.
There were a record number of 993,200 job vacancies at the beginning of the year, as the labor requirement remained high across categories of occupations. By the end of the third quarter of 2022, there were 1.1 persons per vacant job in Canada.
Growth in average hourly wages
The Canadian labor market remains tight, resulting in challenges to hiring employees. Employers explore ways to attract labor, such as higher hourly wages. The current average hourly wage is $24.20, showing a growth of 7.5 percent over the last year.
The break-up of a few categories of in-demand occupations which witnessed higher growth of average hourly wages than the national average is:
- Trades utilities production and transportation (middle management) – Growth of 10.8 percent ($41.40)
- Health services (assisting occupations) – Growth of 10.7 percent ($22.45)
- Manufacturing (assemblers) – Growth of 10.4 percent ($20.05)
- Process and Manufacturing (machine operators) – Growth of 10.2 percent ($20.02)
Job vacancies in main sectors
The following are sector-specific job vacancies:
- Healthcare and social assistance – 150,100
- Accommodation and food services – 140,000
- Construction – 81,000
- Professional scientific and technical services – 63,100
Top five provinces with the highest number of vacant job positions
- Ontario – 364,000
- Quebec – 232,400
- British Columbia – 155,400
- Alberta – 103,380
- Manitoba – 32,400
Strategies to boost immigration
Immigration is the prime driver of Canada’s labor market. Canada is aiming to leverage the Express Entry system to focus on filling vacant job positions across in-demand occupations in Canada. Hiring more workforce and using innovative digital technologies are a few strategies by the IRCC to expedite the immigration of candidates.
