The labour shortage isn't over — and employers are having to lower their hiring expectations

Rick Omond's construction company in New Brunswick has given three pay raises over the last year and a half as it tries to hold on to workers in the midst of a record labour shortage.

"Workers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers — they know how busy it is. And it's a daily battle that they're looking for more money," said Omond, the vice-president of Newco Construction in Moncton.

Omond says he could hire six carpenters and labourers right now — if he could find them. And without a full team, he says, projects are taking longer to complete.

Like many construction companies in the province, Newco has had to adjust its hiring expectations and bring on people with little to no experience.

According to a recent survey of 510 Canadian hiring decision-makers, one in four employers have hired someone they normally wouldn't have due to a shortage in workers. The survey was conducted between Nov. 10 and Dec. 2, 2021 on behalf of staffing agency Express Employment Professionals.

Even so, with employers outbidding each other on pay, Omond says it's really easy to lose workers for a slight pay bump elsewhere. "There's just no loyalty anymore," he said.

WATCH | Why a 4-day work week may be the answer to employer woes:

The labour shortage that took off during the pandemic is far from over. According to Statistics Canada, there were 915,500 unfilled positions in the fourth quarter of 2021. That's up by 63 per cent compared to 2020.

Jobs are also staying vacant for longer, with almost half of vacancies remaining unfilled for 60 days. In 2020, 36 per cent of job openings stayed vacant for that long.

Some of the hardest to fill occupations include servers, construction labourers and social workers.

Hiring website Indeed has also seen a dramatic jump in job postings over the last year, up 69 per cent as of March 18,  compared to February 2020. The largest increase in postings from pre-pandemic levels were for jobs in the Prairie and Atlantic provinces.

Based on the number of postings from employers on that site in March, the top companies hiring include Alberta Health Services, the five big banks, and big-box retailers, like Walmart and Home Depot.

Hiring might have become more challenging over the last year, but BDC chief economist Pierre Cléroux says the labour shortage is not primarily about the pandemic.

"The main reason why we have difficulties [recruiting] is because we have an aging population," he said.