Statistics Canada has recently released their Labour Force Survey for the Month of May, 2006. The survey highlights the difficulty that many Canadian companies face finding qualified workers to fill positions.
Canada's jobless rate fell to its lowest level in almost 32 years last month, with wages continuing to climb, especially in the West. In Alberta, the average hourly wage has jumped 7.3 % in the past year.
Moreover, the aging population means that job shortages in the near future will only get worse, not better.
“With the demographics being such, [Truckers] have the oldest work force in the country,” said David Bradley, chief executive of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, in an interview Friday. For the first time ever, the number of truck drivers over 50 has exceeded the number of truck drivers under 30 this year, he added.
“We are not getting anywhere near the economic average of young people coming into our sector... so any excess capacity is going to be sucked up by the fact that we are losing more drivers through attrition and aging,” he said.
Trucking isn't the only industry staring at long-term labour shortage problems. According to a Bank of Canada survey, almost half of Canadian companies feel shortages are restricting their ability to expand.
“Right across the industry, we're finding companies complaining because the lack of labour,” said Jayson Myers, chief economist at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, an industry which has up until recently been cutting jobs.
The situation is especially acute in the West, he said. “It's not just in Alberta, but in Saskatchewan, and the lack of labour is a constraint to future growth.”
Readers of this item may be interested to know that we are currently accepting requests from foreign nationals seeking to live and work in Canada on an expedited basis for immediate full-time employment in the Canadian trucking industry. There is no required investment.
Canadian employers in this industry offer remunerative benefit packages which can exceed C$70,000 – US$60,000 – GBP £35,000.
Interested readers are invited to complete the following questionnaire:
