Job Hunting in Canada is an Employee’s Market

Is job hunting in Canada an employee’s market? We would say so. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned Canada’s labour market on its head for a few reasons:

– Canada is an aging population and many who were close to retirement elected to retire early in the midst of the pandemic, vacating those positions.

– Vaccination policy has led to many vacancies as companies suspend and terminate unvaccinated staff members. In November alone, as many as 20,000 out of approx. 300,000 federal employees were slated to be put on unpaid leave because of not having their vaccinations, according to a recent article in Reuters. In the same article the Bank of Canada indicated that companies are facing more intense labour shortages.

– Employees in the hardest-hit sectors like restaurants, tourism, and retail, to name a few, have decided to reskill and look at work in different industries.

– Pandemic assistance programs, like CERB and the CRB, reduced the urgency for some to re-enter the labour market vs staying home and hoping that their employer would call them back to work.

– A reduction in immigration because of travel restrictions.

All these occurrences have led to more job opportunity and a shift in the talent pool. There are so many workers coming out of affected industries and trying to move into others that employers are finding themselves flooded with resumés for candidates who don’t have the right skills and experience. Top talent then becomes in demand and because the pickings are slim, employers are having to compete to land these individuals, leading to increased compensation and even hiring bonuses.

In another recent article by Reuters, wage inflation is touted as an issue the Canadian government, Bank of Canada, economists, and companies alike are watching. In the article, Tanya Cerniuk, head of sales at global staffing firm Adecco Group, indicated that she is seeing increases in wages in Canada ranging anywhere from 10% to 40%.

According to a recent article by CTV News, some of the industries hardest hit by the labour shortage that you may want to pay attention to include:

– Food and hospitality

– Healthcare

– Manufacturing

– Construction

– Retail

– Trucking

All the above would seem to indicate that it is an employee’s market in Canada at the moment and a prime opportunity to get out there and take advantage of both job opportunities and the chance to actually achieve more income than you would have before the pandemic.

For more information about job hunting in Canada, please visit triton.clientwebdev.com/online-police-checks/