‘Over a million vacant jobs’: Canada May govt data signals hope

Canada is believed to be one of the most immigrant-friendly countries. The pandemic, however, had turned out to be a big dampener and a roadblock for those seeking a job or permanent residency in the nation.

For those who have not yet dropped their plans for a job hunt in Canada, the May government data signals some hope.

According to the details shared on a government website, employers in the country were looking to fill over a one million (1,005,700) vacant positions at the beginning of May. This was not very different, it highlights, in comparison to the previous month.

“New data developed by Statistics Canada to remove seasonal variations indicate that job vacancies increased steadily until December 2021 before stabilizing somewhat in recent months,” it says.

“A low unemployment rate of 5.1% (Labour Force Survey, not seasonally adjusted) combined with the high number of vacancies meant that the unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio was 1.1 in May, down from 2.4 one year earlier,” it added.

The lower unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio may be an indicator of possible labour shortages, it suggested.

Industry-wise, vacancies in healthcare and social assistance surged 14.5% to 143,400 in May. “Job vacancies in retail trade (99,200), manufacturing (86,800), construction (84,600) and transportation and warehousing (51,100) were also little changed in May,” the report says, adding that Nova Scotia and Manitoba saw record high vacancies. In accommodation and food services sector, employers sought to fill 161,100 vacant positions.

“Total labour demand (the sum of filled and vacant positions) reached a record high of nearly 17.5 million in May, up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis,” as per the latest data.