Employers in Canada were seeking to fill more than one million vacant positions in May, continuing to climb from the record high in April and up 42.5% from 2021, according to data from Statistics Canada. .“The job vacancy rate remained at 5.8% for a second consecutive month in May, but was up 4.4% from one year earlier,” said Statistics Canada in a Thursday statement. .“A low unemployment rate of 5.1% combined with the high number of vacancies meant that the unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio was 1.1 in May, down from 2.4 one year earlier.”.Statistics Canada said this low unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio indicates a tight labour market and possible labour shortages. .The statement said the number of job vacancies in healthcare and social assistance increased 14.5% to 143,400 in May, offsetting the decline in April. The job vacancy rate was 6.1% in May, up from 5.4% in April..Employers in accommodations and food services were seeking to fill 161,100 vacant positions in May, which is little changed from the previous month. The job vacancy rate was 11.9%, the highest of any sector for the 13th consecutive month. .The high level of job vacancies in this sector reflects the troubles faced by employers looking to attract and retain workers. The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions said 24.6% of businesses in the sector expect to have more vacancies over the next three months. .Job vacancies reached record highs in Nova Scotia at 24,600 openings and Manitoba at 32,200. This increase in job vacancies stemmed from accommodations and food services. .This data comes after Canadian employers said they were happy to hire people without the necessary job experience because of the tight labour market, according to a study released by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed on June 20. .READ MORE: Canadian employers open to hiring workers without direct experience."We are quite honestly facing one of the tightest labour markets we've ever had," said Indeed Director Michelle Slater. ."There is a definite labour shortage.".Record high immigration is needed to fill job vacancies in Canada, said Immigration Minister Sean Fraser in May. .READ MORE: Liberals say immigrants desperately needed to fill jobs.“We cannot fill those jobs,” said Fraser. .“If we want to maximize our economic potential as a country to pay for all the things we enjoy we need to bring more people into our workforce.”
