JOBS

Canada’s labour market is in a strange situation. It’s still a long way removed from a full recovery, needing hundreds of thousands of people to get back to work. But companies say they’re struggling to fill positions. Discussions about lowwage work, and the degree to which pandemic income supports are skewing incentives, tend to obscure a persistent issue for employers: skills shortages.

Small businesses say the No. 1 thing holding back sales and production is a lack of skilled labour, according to survey results from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. That’s a typical response that predates the pandemic and will likely outlast it, too. A recent Royal Bank of Canada report estimated more than 700,000 skilled tradespeople are expected to retire by 2028. Some of the worst shortages, the report said, will be for industrial mechanics, boilermakers and welders – key roles in revitalizing the country’s infrastructure. Furthermore, the pandemic has highlighted another long-standing shortage: nurses. As of June, there were about 109,000 vacancies in health care and social assistance, a sector that often has the most unfilled positions. Canada will need a bold policy prescription to ensure it has enough people in the right jobs.