According to Statistics Canada's quarterly job vacancies report, Canada's job vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2021 was the highest on record.

The job vacancy rate expresses the number of open positions as a percentage of all available jobs, both open and filled. The job vacancy rate in Canada was 4.6 percent between April and June, the highest since comparable data became available in 2015. The high rate was influenced by both an increase in vacancies and a decrease in payroll employment over the period.

There were 731,900 job openings in the third quarter, which is nearly 26% more than the same period two years ago. Because Statistics Canada did not collect data on job vacancy rates between March and September 2020, the earliest comparable data for this time period is from 2019.

Job openings increased in all provinces when compared to 2019. The most significant increases occurred in Quebec and Ontario. Vacancy rates were highest in British Columbia and Quebec.

Even before the pandemic, Canada had a labour shortage, which was being addressed in part through immigration. However, with some of the lowest numbers of new immigrants expected to arrive in Canada in 2020, it only served to exacerbate the labor-market tightness.

Vacancies increased especially rapidly in some industries. One out of every seven job openings in Canada was in the health care and social assistance sector. It experienced the greatest two-year increase in vacancies, increasing by more than 40,000 to 108,800.

Vacancies increased in all sub-sectors, but particularly in hospitals, nursing homes, and residential care facilities. Over the two-year period, nurses and psychiatric nurses saw the greatest increase of any occupation. Their average hourly wage was $32.50, up nearly 6% from 2019.

Construction job openings reached an all-time high of 62,600. A large portion of the job openings were for construction trade helpers, carpenters, and electricians.

Manufacturing had a record number of job openings, with 65,900 available positions. Vacancies were spread across several sub-sectors, with food manufacturing and wood product manufacturing seeing the most growth.

There were also an all-time high number of vacancies in the lodging and food service industries. There were up to 89,100 job openings in this industry. The increase was entirely in the sub-sector of food services and drinking establishments, which was vulnerable to public health restrictions.

With Canada's desperate need for a stronger labour force, they are turning to talent from abroad to fill this void. You may be qualified to fill this gap in Canada's workforce, so if living and working in Canada has been on your radar, contacting a New World Immigration consultant is your best bet for a better life and future in the Great White North.