Q. “In a context of labor shortage, I wonder how many people on welfare could fill positions according to their potential. Can the government force a beneficiary to apply for a vacant position? ”
Élise pigeon
R. You have to be wary of easy solutions.
With the labor shortage, Quebec has 194,000 vacant positions. Here then, the province counts precisely 294,000 recipients of social assistance. Let them get to work and the problem will be solved!
Uh, no… not so fast.
Let’s take a look at the numbers …
Before we go any further, let’s highlight some good news. There have never been so few social assistance recipients. They represent only 4.3% of the Quebec population. The rate is higher in certain regions such as Mauricie (6.7%) and Gaspésie (5.7%). But overall, we are light years away from rates above 10% of the 1990s.
So much the better.
Now let’s calculate those who could return to the labor market.
From the current 294,000 beneficiaries, we must first subtract about 53,000 children who we want to see on the school benches as long as possible.
Next, we must subtract the 120,000 adults who have severe employment restrictions, which represents almost half of the total.
Then, we must also remove the 47,000 adults who have temporary constraints to employment (for example, a pregnancy).
At the end of the day, there are only 70,000 welfare recipients left who are employable… in theory.
Consult the report on the clientele of social assistance programs
It is important to realize that these are mostly lazy young people who simply do not want to work. This is a myth, because barely 1 in 14 claimants fall into the 25 and under category.
In fact, the average age of claimants is 47 years old. These are people with little education (only 10% have more than a high school diploma) and illiterate (only 20% have a level of literacy that allows them to function easily in society).
Consult the portrait of people on social assistance
Many experience difficulties related to alcohol and drug addictions, which is not considered to be a constraint on employment. Many have been absent for a long time from the labor market where they have suffered repeated setbacks. Others have behavioral problems, have a criminal record …
“Sometimes, we think that providers do not make an effort to find work, but it’s more complex than that,” summarizes Virginie Larivière, spokesperson for the Collective for a Quebec without poverty.
This does not mean that we must give up. In recent years, all new social assistance applicants have been required to participate in the Objectif emploi program for 12 months, which targets their training, the development of their skills and integration into the labor market.
It is time to do an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of this program.