According to a report recently released by Statistics Canada, immigration remains crucial to Canada’s labor market.

As reported, the current levels of immigration will not be enough to meet the country’s long-term labor needs due to its aging population.

As Canada’s post-pandemic economy improves, exponential labor shortages continue to be a problem. Around 40 percent of employers anticipated labor shortages at the beginning of the year.

According to the Job Vacancy report, the country’s shortage reached a million openings. This was a 2.7 percent increase from the shortage in the last quarter, and 80 percent higher than the shortage pre-pandemic.

The latest statistics show that the majority of openings are needed in the health care and social assistance industries. This is mainly due to the pandemic and is exasperated by the country’s aging population.

Another industry with a large number of openings in the construction sector. Vacancies in this industry were up by more than 7 percent from the previous quarter, with around 81,500 jobs available.

Other sectors in dire need of workers are the manufacturing and retail trade sectors, with a combined 202,000 jobs available.

Immigration is the Solution.

As the country continues to face a shortage of workers, many employers find it hard to fill in certain positions with the right people. This is why immigration remains crucial to Canada.

Canada’s immigration minister, Sean Fraser, recently announced that new measures are to be put into place to help recruit and retain skilled workers. Among these measures will be the extended post-graduation work permits (PGWPs) and the resumption of the Express Entry draws.

In February of this year, Canada increased the immigration levels plan in response to the growing economy. With the labor shortage still at an all-time high, the country will need to continually improve immigration targets to keep up with the demands.

Leading up to the pandemic, the labor market outcome for immigrants improved significantly. The employment rate for immigrants increased by 8 percent since the early 2010s, while earnings grew by 39 percent. In contrast, the employment rate for Canadian-born workers only increased by 2 percent within the same period.

The study states that the improvement in the employment rates and earnings can be contributed to Canada’s more robust economic growth, and improvements to immigration programs, such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs). 

As Canada’s economy continues to grow, immigration will continue to remain crucial to Canada’s Labor Market.