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Showing posts from December, 2021

Rising Employment amid Economic Recovery in Canada

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With employment soaring beyond predictions and unemployment dropping to near pre-pandemic levels, new labour force data suggest that Canada is on its way to a full economic recovery.   This past November, Canadian employers added 154,000 jobs to the economy. Last month’s growth exceeded analysts’ predictions of 38,000, which was closer to October levels. The gains pushed employment a full percentage point higher than pre-pandemic levels. Also, unemployment dropped to 6%, which is within 0.3 percentage points of what it was in February 2020.   Data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reflect labour market conditions during the week of November 7 to 13. Proof-of-vaccination policies and other public health measures were largely similar to those in October.   Hiring in November was driven by the private sector both in full-time and part-time positions. Even so, Canada is still experiencing labour shortages across sectors like hospitality, retail, and hea...

How Canadian Government can tackle Labor Market Outcomes

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Canada’s immigration system is designed to fill labor shortages, and yet the current system is not keeping up with the demand for essential workers. One of the reasons is that Canada has a number of immigration pathways for workers in “skilled occupations,” which do not always include jobs that are in-demand. Also, the process for regulated industries, such as nursing, result in fewer qualified workers being able to work in the field that they trained for.Over qualification is also a problem for both immigrants working in essential jobs, and employers. Let us look at the summary of some recommendations on how to fix the gaps in essential sectors, and improve outcomes for immigrants. ·          To mitigate over qualification in essential occupations, the study suggests that there should be more pathways to permanent residence for essential workers. Canada should give out more points in the Express Entry system for essentia...