Question Period Note: Measures to Address Labour Market Shortages

Employers in some regions and sectors are struggling to find workers. The Government provides a variety of supports to help Canadians acquire the skills they need to access jobs and respond to demand.

• Unemployment is at near-historic lows.
• Employers in some sectors and regions are having trouble finding workers.
• To support inclusive growth and regional economic development, we need to ensure that everyone can access good jobs.
• Recent investments in the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, and the Student Work Placement program are making a difference.
• Our Government is also committed to ensuring skilled newcomers can get good jobs through supports for credential recognition.

• We introduced the Global Talent Stream to expedite employer access to specialized and highly-skilled temporary foreign workers.

The employment rate is currently sitting at an historical high and employment has grown by more than one million since December 2015. Similarly, the unemployment rate, is near-record lows.

Employers report more difficulty recruiting qualified personnel. In a 2018 survey, approximately 40% of employers reported difficulty in filling jobs.

Labour shortages are most pronounced in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. However, in the Prairies, unemployment is higher largely attributed to ongoing challenges in the energy sector.

Recent investments targeting underrepresented groups in the labour market include: $2B for the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program (Budget 2017); $395.5M over 3 years to renew the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (Budget 2017); $631M for the Student Work Placement Program; $28M for the Targeted Employment Strategy for Newcomers.

Key Labour Market Stats: According to the National Job Vacancy and Wage Survey, there were 582,000 job vacancies reported across Canada in the second quarter of 2019 (an increase of 6.4% from the second quarter of 2018). This was the eleventh consecutive quarter with a year-over-year increase in both the number of job vacancies and the job vacancy rate.

None