Labour markets haven’t been this tight in decades
In nearly every Canadian industry and across every sector, a historic labour shortage is hitting companies hard. As of June 2022, businesses posted almost 70% more job openings in Canada than pre-pandemic. But these firms were competing for 13% fewer unemployed workers than were available in February 2020. The impact is severe: more than half of Canadian businesses say labour shortages are limiting their ability to increase production—up from 40% before the pandemic and 30% a decade ago.