We Need Some Help

This is a development that probably was not expected when the economy began to re-open….we’re finding a lot – and I mean a lot – of empty jobs. Employers are scrambling to hire and with little luck.

When the pandemic lockdowns began to ease – allowing many of whom had been forced to the sidelines to return to their jobs – most thought there’d be plenty of talent looking to get back to some level of normalcy. But, it turns out, the exact opposite occurred.

The latest job vacancy numbers in this province are nearly double what they were in the days leading up to the pandemic. They were 2.2% at the end of 2019…now they’re 4.2%. And that is one of the better pictures nationally. In BC, for example, it’s 6-percent.

The industries hit hardest are hospitality. It turns out people who could held onto their jobs during the pandemic. Now that the economy has re-opened they are voluntarily quitting or acting on the retirement plans they had postponed.

And all of this has been made more evident with the virtual elimination of immigration during COVID as new residents often filled these positions.