6A business group warned on Tuesday that a labour shortage
in Canada is deepening, with more than 430,000 jobs at small and medium-sized
firms remaining unfilled for at least four months.
The job vacancy rate has risen to 3.3 percent, from 2.9
percent a year ago, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said in a
report.
This is “above the records set before the 2008 financial
crisis, and businesses are really feeling the pressure,” said CFIB chief
economist Ted Mallett.
According to the government statistical agency, the
unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points in October to a near-record low of
5.8 percent.
The labour shortage, according to the CFIB, is particularly acute
in the services, construction, agricultural, and oil and gas sectors, and is
putting upward pressure on wages.
The data release comes as the federal and Quebec governments
spar over immigration targets.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has pledged to cut
immigration, despite the mostly French-Canada urgently hoping to fill 430,000 empty occupationsspeaking province being hit hardest by a
lack of skilled workers.
“What I hear across Quebec is entrepreneurs, businesses
concerned about the labour shortage, so I’m not sure it’s the best time to cut
immigration,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented.
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