News: Canada Needs You! – Help Canada’s Job Market

The issue of work is at the top of our interests when discussing immigration to Canada.  It’s a major concern for most of our clients (all besides the fortunate few who manage to score a job offer before submitting an immigration application), and so – it is one of our main priorities.
As you may well know, ItsCanadaTime provides specialized packages to help our clients find a job in their field, and thanks to our work with expert head hunters and HR specialists, we are able to stay informed of new developments, and present them to you.

This month had a great vintage of surveys in Canada, among them were surveys on the subject of employment in Canada.  The surveys focused on diverse elements in the Canadian employment field, and the subjects taking them were employees as well as employers.  Do you have time to read an entire article about work in Canada? Maybe not, so I’ll save you the time of reading this whole thing and sum it up for you: if you’re considering moving to Canada or looking for a job in Canada, the conditions are optimal right now.

Don’t wait! Start your immigration process now!

Many jobs in Canada are unfilled

Have you heard of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)? Well, you have now.  The CFIB conducted an April-June survey, which reveals the highest vacancy increase since 2004 – the year CFIB started gathering this type of data.  Which is to say – it could be the highest ever.  The actual number is a 3.1% vacancy average throughout Canada.  That doesn’t sound very high, though, does it? But it is.  Think about it in real numbers: for every 1000 jobs in Canada, 31 have been vacant for over 4 months!
Or to put it another way, Canada has 397,400 positions sitting unfilled for over 4 months.

This has its consequences.  With businesses feeling weaker due to this shortage, working conditions are continuously being improved, chief among them the increase in salaries designed to make vacant positions more appealing to workers.  I mean, finally, right? Moving to Canada and getting a job in Canada has been so unattractive so far…

About time too…

Where can you get a job?

Now you know the all-Canada job vacancy situation.  Sounds great, but you need to know if the province you want to apply for has jobs for you, right?
According to the data, 3 of Canada’s provinces are struggling much more than other provinces to fill their vacancies.  82% of the vacancies I mentioned are in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.

Hang on, I have a calculator… that’s  326,000 jobs.

As you can see, while Canada’s strong work market keeps growing and vacancies are available all over the country, the most significant shortage is in Quebec .  This has to do with the province’s 2017 vacancy explosion, which brought the province’s unemployment rate to the lowest it’s been since 1976! This situation, which is becoming a real crisis in Quebec, is a fantastic turn for those applying for any of the various immigration programs.
According to the Mayor of Quebec City Régis Labeaume “This dramatic lack of manpower is the most dangerous problem and can jeopardize our economic future”.

In a new list of annual priorities released by Mayor Labeaume,  immigration placed right at the top and stated a need to fill 17,000 vacant positions in the region.  The mayor is looking for an increase of several thousand new Canadians this year.  Labeaume also gave his tip to those looking to immigrate to the region:  “It’s a French city and there are two ways to succeed in immigration: to get a job and to speak the local language”.  He went on to say We have the jobs; if they speak French, it’s going to be a total success.”

Be a superhero, land in Canada.

What does a high vacancy rate mean?

What does it mean that Canada has a relatively high vacancy rate?
That CFIB survey mentioned earlier did not just focus on how many vacancies there are.  Among other things it revealed that businesses who struggle to fill vacancies are pressured to increase wages in order to avoid great financial losses in the near future.  The survey reflects a reality where companies which have at least 1 position to fill are planning a salary increase of 2.7% on average this year.  This is not a new thing.  Canada’s booming economy has seen rising salaries over the last few years.  According to Statistics Canada, salaries in Canada reached the highest they’ve been in 6 years in May of 2018. 

Is there a job for you?

I’ll start by saying yes.  There are plenty of fish in the Canadian sea of employers, and it really is an issue of fishing with the correct bait.
That said, some industries are more in need than others.  Thanks to the increase in the construction of new homes, an industry with a very high rate of available jobs is construction (a whopping 3.8% of the job vacancy rate), with the transport industry following close behind it (3.4% available jobs).           

It gets even better.  The personal service category is the one which has the most vacancies – 4.8% vacancies across the board.  This category includes a very wide variety of professions in every possible industry, and many of these positions don’t require prior experience or even training.  So even if you can’t find a job based on your specific skill set, you can start in your industry and work towards utilizing your skills more often.

Did you know? My dream job is waiting for me in Canada! 🙂
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