Nearly a year following the Legault government’s $3.9 billion Workforce Operation, Quebec still has more than 248,100 vacancies. And the retirement of the 55 and over cannot be compensated by young people looking for a better paid job to cope with inflation.
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“After the great confinement, the labor market recovered. Shortly following, we returned to very high levels of vacant positions, ”analyzes the senior economist of Desjardins, Hélène Bégin.
“The main reason why there is still a lack of manpower is demographics. Many people aged 55 and over are leaving the labor market and the generation entering is less numerous, ”she continues.
According to Hélène Bégin, immigration, retirees or people on the margins of society will never be able to solve the problem on their own.
“All the solutions will ensure that this will alleviate the labor shortage, but none will make it disappear,” she explains.
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In Quebec, in the 2nd quarter of 2022, more than 248,100 (+2.4%) positions were still to be filled, according to data from Statistics Canada published yesterday. In Canada, this figure approached the record figure of one million (997,000).
In the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions combined, the number rose to 41,225, the highest number since the data became available, according to Québec International.
“There was less than one unemployed person for each vacant position in the second quarter of 2022 in Quebec (0.8)”, notes Statistics Canada in its bulletin.
Amplified by the pandemic
However, with inflation reaching 7.1% last month, some workers, who have seen their wages increase more slowly than inflation, are no longer afraid to “shop around for a job” (see down there).
“I consider trades that I had not considered before, simply for the pecuniary argument”, confides Esteban Valdebenito, 31, production supervisor for a market gardening company in the county of Roussillon.
“Someone like me might consider going to teach, if only because conditions have improved, it’s public service and there’s security behind it,” he continues.
According to Simon Savard, senior economist at the Institut du Québec (IDQ), we saw less of this type of thinking when the unemployment rate was high.
The expert is also of the opinion that this movement is not only caused by inflation, but simply by the large number of vacant positions here.
“If there are interesting positions available, there may be interest from people who do not currently have good conditions and who are looking to upgrade them,” he observes.
“The pandemic has put its foot on the accelerator of this trend,” concludes Hélène Bégin, senior economist at Desjardins.
In November 2021, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, launched “Operation Workforce” and announced 80 measures to get 170,000 more workers within five years.
Incomes that rise less quickly than inflation
- Inflation (August 2022): 7,1 %
- Accommodation and catering : 6 %
- Finance and insurance: 6,4 %
- Fabrication : 5,4 %
- Agriculture : 4,9 %
- Transport : 4,3 %
Source: Statistics Canada and Desjardins
