Key highlights

• In March, the Canadian economy created 35,000 more jobs than was anticipated.
• By province, Prince Edward Island added 1,700 jobs, Alberta added 14,000, Ontario added 21,000, and Manitoba added 3,300. While there was little change in the other provinces, Saskatchewan lost 4,300 jobs.
• Industries like Tourism, Travel, and hotel-related businesses are bouncing back hence there is a war for talent with higher wages now being offered.

In March, the Canadian economy created 35,000 more jobs than was anticipated.

According to reports, despite a surge in hiring, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5% because more people were actively seeking employment.

The economy unexpectedly added 35,000 jobs during the month when analysts had predicted it would only add about 12,000 jobs.

By province, Prince Edward Island added 1,700 jobs, Alberta added 14,000, Ontario added 21,000, and Manitoba added 3,300. While there was little change in the other provinces, Saskatchewan lost 4,300 jobs.

Industries that saw hiring surges and declines

Jobs in the service sector, such as Transportation and warehousing, which added 41,000 workers, experienced hiring booms across a number of industries.

Others are:

• Construction and other support services increased by 31,000.
• There were 19,000 more employees in the financial, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing sectors.

  The following sectors, on the other hand, saw job losses during the month:

• Construction lost 19,000 employees;
• Other services (which includes personal and repair services), lost 11,000 positions
• 11,000 jobs were lost in natural resources.

The average hourly wage of a Canadian worker was $33.12 during the month which is an increase of 5.3 percent from last year. That’s down from February’s annual pace of 5.4 percent, but still above Canada’s 5.2 percent inflation rate.

Wage gains have now outpaced the official inflation rate for two months in a row which is the first time that’s happened since the inflation rate started skyrocketing in late 2021.

The War for Talent

A war for talent is great news for workers, and it means employers are having to improve their offers in the war for talent.

According to Georgia Sanderson, director of human resources with the Hyatt Regency Toronto.

• “After years in the COVID-led doldrums, the tourism industry is bouncing back in a big way, and hotels and other travel-related businesses have a strong demand for workers”.

She speaks further saying that says the hotel chain is hiring for a couple of dozen positions at a handful of hotels in and around Toronto, and the benefits and salaries have come up significantly.

• “A lot of places are offering hiring bonuses and different benefits to try and encourage people to come back to the industry,” she stated.

The war for talent in Canada has indeed led to higher wages offered to job applicants.

According to Pedro Antunes, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada,

• “A lot of employers say they’ve been having trouble finding workers, and what do you do? You bid up your offer and that tends to drive wages up. Higher wages are exactly what you’d expect when high inflation persists for as long as it has”.

These job numbers are another sign that the economy seems to be doing better than the worst-case scenario which some had envisioned. Therefore, the growing numbers of job seekers from Nigeria and other parts of the world will need to position themselves for these sectors that are hiring.

Source: Nairametrics