In August, job vacancies in Canada remained above pre-COVID levels, particularly in industries such as food services, health care, and technology.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 871,600 job vacancies in Canada last month, the highest number of the year and a climb over the previous month’s figure of 805,500.

While large job vacancies can indicate increased employment, they can also indicate high turnover, labor shortages, or mismatches between the qualities of empty positions and those of available people, according to the report.

In August, the number of job openings in professional, scientific, and technical services hit a new high of 61,100. This is a 66% increase over the number of job openings in the third quarter of 2019. Because it was one of the least affected by public health initiatives, employment growth persisted in this industry.

The lodging and food services sector, on the other hand, was still reeling from the effects of the recession. The number of job openings was at an all-time high. In August, employers in this industry were actively recruiting for 156,800 positions. Employers found it difficult to call back employees or hire new personnel as public health regulations lifted and eateries were able to open.

According to the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, 42% of businesses reported having at least one more vacancy in August than before the outbreak.

In August, there were roughly twice as many job openings in health care and social assistance as there were in the third quarter of 2019. In the third quarter of 2019, there were around 121,300 empty positions in the industry, up from 66,100 in the previous quarter.

Prior to the pandemic, employment in the healthcare and social-aid sectors had been increasing in tandem with the aging population. Following the initial shutdown in March 2020, employment in the sector fell to an all-time low in May and then surpassed pre-COVID levels in February 2021.

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses had the highest job openings in the second quarter of 2021, compared to 2019. Almost half of the job openings in this industry have been available for 90 days or more.

Canada is no stranger to labor shortages. Canada has had an aging population and a low birth rate even before the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, labor shortages are here to stay due to our aging population,” says Pierre Cléroux, chief economist of the Business Development Bank of Canada, in a research on the Canadian labor market.

The paper identifies four factors for slowing labor force growth. Baby boomers are retiring faster than new workers can replace them in the labor market. Until at least 2026, the number of retirees is likely to stay high. Young people are taking a lot longer to finish school and start working. And, while immigration helps to offset the number of people leaving the labor market, it is insufficient to keep the labor force growing.

According to the analysis, if Canada properly integrated millennials, immigrants, and offered incentives for older workers to stay, such as increased workplace flexibility and phased retirement alternatives, the country could add over two million workers to the workforce.