Working in Canada
In a challenging global climate, Canada’s labour market has shown strength and resilience, even outperforming all the other G7 economies in job creation through the private sector with highly skilled, high wage, full time positions. With the unemployment rate at an all-time low, those who are looking for work appear to be finding it. There isn’t enough talent supply to meet the hiring needs.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce lists skill shortages as the number one barrier to Canada’s competitiveness. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reports that about a third of businesses surveyed reported having experienced skills shortages limiting their expansion.
Population aging will be the key challenge as the share of the population aged 65 and older increases and the share of the working-age population falls. Unless labour force participation improves, this could contribute to larger skills and labour shortages and increase the economic impact of mismatches.