Canadians who want to work have never had so much choice. A record number of vacancies was reached in the first three months of 2022, so that in Quebec, this number exceeds that of the unemployed.
Updated yesterday at 11:33 p.m.
According to data collected by Statistics Canada, 957,500 positions were to be filled in the first quarter of 2022. In Quebec, there were 224,370, while the number of unemployed was lower, at 190,000.
If we compare the situation with the first quarter of 2020, just before the pandemic mobilized the whole planet and at a time when a shortage of labor was rife, the increase in the number of vacancies is phenomenal. In two years, there has been an increase of 72.3% nationally.
This upward trend goes back even further. It has started since the first quarter of 2016. The job vacancy rate measures the number of job vacancies as a proportion of the total labor demand.
Code red in healthcare
Many Quebecers have seen it for themselves in the field and the statistics support their observations: there is a severe shortage of manpower in the health and social assistance field. Moreover, the pandemic has accentuated the problem.
The number of job vacancies in this field reached a new record of 136,800, up 5% from the peak recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, the increase amounts to 90.9% .
We are looking for registered nurses and registered nurses (+ 77.8% to reach 22,900), nurses and nursing assistants (+ 166% to reach 11,300) as well as orderlies and orderlies (+ 84.2% to reach 21,900).
Strong demand in construction
The construction sector is also registering a record number of vacancies. Industry players sounded the alarm several months ago and the statistics reflect their concerns.
In the first quarter of 2022, on a seasonally adjusted basis, employers in the construction sector were actively seeking to fill 81,500 job vacancies. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, this is an increase of 107%.
For the past two years, laborers (+97%; +8,800) and carpenters-joiners (+149.1%; +6,600) have been in high demand.
New highs are also recorded in the manufacturing and retail sectors. The largest increases were observed in fabricated metal products manufacturing (+115.7%; +6,100), general merchandise stores (+102.3%; +4,700), food stores (+93 .2%; +10,300) and food manufacturing (+81.8%; +6,800).
Average increase of 3%
Faced with the increase in the number of vacancies and the strong competition to recruit talent, some employers have increased salaries.
Across all industries, offered wages rose 2.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2022 and average hourly wages for all employees rose 3.0%. A rate below the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which increased by 5.8% during the same period.
Over the past year, employers in certain sectors have loosened their purse strings further, notably wholesale trade (+9.4% to reach $26.10), transportation and warehousing (+8.0% to to reach $24.25), construction (+6.6% to reach $27.50) and manufacturing (+6.6% to reach $23.45).
By comparison, wages increased little or not at all in health care and social assistance (+2.4% to $25.60), utilities (+1.3% to $37, $55) and educational services (-3.5% to $27.30).
Higher wages demanded
What could explain the high number of vacancies is the difference between the salary expectations of employees and what employers offer, raises Statistics Canada.
In February and March 2022, the Labor Force Survey collected data on the minimum hourly wage that job seekers are willing to accept for a position. In some sectors such as retail, accommodation, catering and construction, workers would like to be paid up to 22.4% more than the wages offered.
However, in some sectors, vacancies are due to a shortage of skilled workers. For example, in the health care and social assistance sector, the average wages offered were 8.9% higher than the wages expected by workers.