Canada reports the highest job vacancies in the first quarter of 2022

If you are interested in moving to Canada, this is the best time. Do you want to know why? Read ahead.

Due to the restrictions of the ongoing pandemic, the immigration process has been halted for over a year. This has caused a rise in the number of vacancies in the Canadian job market as immigration is the most important process through which the country boosts its workforce and, in turn, the economy.

According to reports, the country has reported around 957,500 job openings in the first quarter of this year (it constitutes the months of January, February, and March), which in statistical terms translates to the fact that the unemployment to job vacancy ratio was 1:2 in the first quarter (Q1), a drop from 2:3 in the same quarter two years ago. While it is to be noted that this is the highest number of a quarter on record, it is increasing at an alarming rate. As a result, employers in various sectors are facing challenges while hiring new employees.

The pandemic has not only affected the employment rate but also created a high demand for new recruits in the healthcare and social services sectors, which have been the most crucial industry to offer services. To be precise, the number of job placements for Q1 in these sectors has created an all-time high at 136,800. Consequently, vacancies in NOC 3413, NOC 3012, and NOC 3233 accounted for 67.7% of the overall vacancies in medical occupations.

The table given below shows the consequential increase in the vacancies in the healthcare sector:

The next set of industries that are hit hard by this hike in vacancy and lack of employees are the construction, manufacturing & retail trade sectors. In the retail trade sector, there were 114,600 job opportunities in Q1, followed by 87,400 in the manufacturing sector and 81,500 in the construction sector around the same time.

Apart from that, there are overall 68,800 vacancies in the professional, scientific and technical services sector. It has caused an augmentation in the job situations for computer and information systems professionals by 68.3% in the first quarter of 2022.

In spite of the record-high job openings in Canada, only 34 newly hired employees for every 100 job vacancies in Q1 of this year. It is quite less when compared to the Q1 of 2021, when around 48 new recruitments were made for every 100, and in the first quarter of 2016, when 82 were hired.

On account of this development, the employment rate in Canada was higher than that of the United States by 2.3% in May. As Canadian employers are facing rising job prospects and decreasing number of skilled workers, it is estimated that recruitment of potential labor force will become an obstacle for 38.5% of industries if the number of skilled immigrants is not increased significantly.

As a result, the Canadian government has decided to nominate over one million new immigrants through various economic-class programs over the next three years. So, if you want to be one of those thousands of skilled foreign workers, entrepreneurs, or students, book your free consultation with IELTMaterial GIS and get started with the process.