In August 2021, the job vacancies in the Canadian job market remained above pre-Covid levels, especially in sectors like food services, healthcare, and Information technology. According to Statistics Canada, the job vacancies in August increased to 871,000 from 805,500 in September.
The report states that while the job vacancies indicate growing employment, they also indicate increasing turnover rates, labor shortages, and mismatch between vacant positions, and availability of workers eligible to fill those vacancies.
Which Sectors Experienced Increased Job Vacancies In Canada?
In August, job vacancies in professional, scientific, and technical occupations, basically highly skilled occupations, reached an all-time high at 61,100. This is a 66% increase compared to the 3rd quarter of 2019. Since these sectors were least affected by the Covid-19 related social restrictions, employment in these sectors continues to grow.
There were a record-breaking 156,800 job vacancies in the food services sector which are still struggling to recover from the impact of the pandemic-related restrictions. With the relaxation of public health restrictions and reopening of restaurants, the sector experienced a lack of workers returning to work and difficulty in hiring new workers. Around 42% of the businesses in the foodservice sector reported 1 additional vacancy compared to before the pandemic, according to the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions.
