ISA Global

According to a new Statistics Canada report, Canada’s economy is still recovering from the coronavirus outbreak.

In September, 91,100 individuals were added to payrolls across Canada, marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

In eight provinces, payroll employment grew. With nearly 43,000 new employees added to payrolls, Ontario led the way. The provinces of British Columbia (BC) and Quebec came in second and third, respectively.

The services-producing sector, notably lodging and food services, public administration, and banking and insurance, drove job growth across the country.

The reopening of the Canada-US border in August and the relaxing of travel restrictions for visitors in September, according to Statistics Canada, may have contributed to job growth in the tourism and allied sectors.

Job shortages are still a problem. At the start of September, there were over 1 million job openings. In the lodging and food sector, there were over 200,000 job openings, with a 14.4% employment vacancy rate. The job vacancy rate is calculated by dividing all vacant positions by the total number of vacant and occupied positions.

Over half of organizations in the hospitality and foodservice industries said they expect to have difficulty finding qualified workers. Only 30% of all other businesses have expressed similar worries.

In September, there were approximately 130,000 vacancies in health care and social support, roughly doubling the entire number of vacancies in the third quarter of 2019.

In September, there were roughly 122,000 vacancies in the retail industry.

Meanwhile, the construction and manufacturing industries each had over 80,000 job openings.

According to Statistics Canada, an increase in job vacancies may indicate increased economic activity and hiring as firms fill new positions. It could also indicate growing fundamental labor market imbalances, such as skills shortages and regional mismatches between job openings and available workers. It could also indicate a shift in workers’ willingness to accept lower earnings, longer hours, and other characteristics linked with job openings.