A man walks into a restaurant displaying a "Now Hiring" sign, Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
TORONTO -- The economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic are squeezing businesses struggling to find workers as ongoing labour shortages continue to stall certain sectors.
Businesses both big and small say they are struggling to find staff and employers have been offering more incentives to attract workers such as higher wages, bonuses, and flexible hours. However, for those industries trying to recoup losses after months of lockdown, Jasmin Guenette of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says perks may not be an option. |
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"Only 40 per cent of small businesses are making normal sales at the moment. So increasing wage is not something that is possible for many businesses," Guenette previously told CTV News.
New research published last week from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) reports that 64 per cent of Canadian businesses say labour shortages are limiting their growth. According to Statistics Canada, there were 731,900 job vacancies in the second quarter of 2021. StatCan said these vacancies can be seen across all provinces, with the largest increases in Quebec, Ontario and B.C. Overall, Deloitte Canada says that 30.3 per cent of Canadian businesses are reporting labour shortages. Trevin Stratton, economic advisory leader and partner at Deloitte Canada, told CTVNews.ca the sectors that have been able to shift to a work-from-home model, such as finance, insurance and real estate, have seen "substantial job growth" throughout the pandemic. "On the other hand, hard-hit sectors that rely on physical presence, like accommodation and food services, transportation and recreation and tourism, still have a way to go before being fully recovered from the pandemic," Stratton said in an email on Tuesday. |
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While many industries have struggled to return to regular working capacity amid COVID-19, data shows that these sectors have the largest number of job vacancies in Canada:
*HOSPITALITY AND FOOD SERVICE
*HEALTH CARE
*MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION
*RETAIL TRADE
*TRUCKING