Canada’s labour market has significantly shrunk this year with people aged 55 and older leaving the workforce and fewer people willing to join the workforce.
- In Canada, the sectors that saw a sharp rise in job vacancies include construction, scientific and technical services; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance, entertainment and recreation; and real estate
Canada, currently, has millions of job vacancies which compelled the government to restart the Express Entry draws( a pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers) for all programmes in a bid to invite eligible candidates to fill the posts. The draws remained suspended temporarily since December 2020 owing to COVID which resulted in many prospective immigrants waiting more than two years to receive or apply for permanent residency in Canada. Earlier this month Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited a total of 1,500 Express Entry candidates to apply for the same.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that Express Entry draws have officially resumed and applications will be processed at our six-month processing standard,” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said while making the announcements on 6 July.
“I want to thank the candidates from around the world for their patience, as we worked to reduce the backlog before resuming Express Entry draws. I look forward to welcoming skilled workers who will be essential in addressing Canada’s labour shortages.”
On December 23, 2020, the last all-program draw held before the pause, IRCC issued 5,000 Invitations to Apply (ITAs).
Why Canada is inviting immigrants to apply for permanent residency?
Canada’s labour market has significantly shrunk this year with people aged 55 and older leaving the workforce and fewer people willing to join the workforce. On the other hand, there are around 1 million job vacancies in the country, especially summer jobs.
CIC News cited that Canada’s 9 million baby boomers are slated to reach retirement age this decade. “A recent RBC survey suggested one-third of Canadians are retiring early, and three in 10 pre-retirees are changing their retirement date because of the pandemic.” Meanwhile, the fertility rate decreased to a record low of 1.4 children per woman in 2020.
A new generation wouldn’t be able to replace the retirees (in terms of job vacancies) if the population rate doesn’t increase to 2.1 babies per woman.
Which sectors have the most job vacancies?
The number of job vacancies in the construction sector reached a new high of 89,900 in April, up 5.4% from March and almost 45% from last April. Other sectors where job vacancies also increased significantly are scientific and technical services; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance, entertainment and recreation; and real estate, another CIC report suggested.”In addition, employment in the accommodation and food services sector rose by more than 10% since February.”
However, the number of jobs decreased in the health care and social assistance sector
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