Companies Lure Workers with Salary Increase as Shortage of Labor Persists
Numerous recruiting managers are responding by increasing wages for difficult-to-fill positions. The average wage increase for those available jobs over the last two years has been 5.6 percent. While Canada is now experiencing historically high levels of inflation, the average wage increase provided to persons seeking vacant positions over the last two years was significantly more than the Consumer Price Index increase over the same period.
Quebec’s solution for addressing these labor shortages has been to make it simpler for firms who are having difficulty finding qualified employees to hire temporary foreign workers.
Since January, enterprises in nine distinct industries ranging from food to healthcare and manufacturing have been permitted to employ up to 20% of their workers via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
Additionally, the francophone province vowed in February to invest $65 million in a two-year plan to attract 1,000 international nurses from francophone nations.
Immigration Measures Aimed at Countering Labor Shortages
Quebec has enacted a slew of measures to address the province’s persistent labor shortages. To begin, the province intends to boost immigration and make it simpler for firms experiencing labor shortages to recruit temporary foreign employees.
Quebec’s Immigration Level Plan, which was issued on October 28, anticipates welcoming 52,500 new permanent immigrants in 2022. The majority of these newcomers will be accepted under Quebec’s economic immigration programs, which include the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) and the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).
Quebec also anticipates an extra 18,000 admissions to achieve intake objectives missed in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic – implying that Quebec will receive more than 70,000 immigrants in 2022.
Quebec also implemented a variety of temporary skilled worker programs.
Employers in Quebec can now employ up to 20% temporary workers, up from 10% previously. Additionally, jobs classified as National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level C will be included in the Simplified Traitement (facilitated processing). This procedure has the potential to provide companies with greater flexibility when it comes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
According to a survey by the Institut du Québec, immigrants in Quebec enjoy a high rate of employment. Immigrants who have resided in Canada for less than five years have contributed significantly to the country’s employment resurgence. In 2021, the employment rate for these arrivals was 76 percent, up from 64 percent in 2019. By 2021, the entire immigrant employment rate would have increased to 83 percent, up from 78 percent in 2019.
