In any given month in B.C. recently, well over 100,000 job vacancies go unfilled, a nasty side effect of record low unemployment in the province after the roller-coaster ride of COVID-19 pandemic shocks to the labour force.
In the most recent figures available, B.C. had 178,810 job vacancies in June, about 7.1 per cent of of all jobs in a labour force of 2.3 million. That’s a peak above the 173,810 vacancies advertised in March and more than double the 82,000 vacancies in January, 2021, when COVID was in full force.
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Top job vacancies:
Hospitality: B.C. restaurants, hotels and other establishments reported 29,370 job vacancies in the second-quarter of 2022, a vacancy rate of 12.2 per cent of all jobs in the sector. This sector suffered the deepest job cuts during the pandemic and thousands permanently left the sector for more stable careers.
Construction: Employers in B.C. were looking to fill 21,115 vacancies in the second quarter of 2022, a vacancy rate of 10.6 per cent. The bulging wave of retirements among skilled tradespeople has become more acute while B.C. is building mega projects such as LNG Canada and B.C. Hydro’s Site C dam.
Health care and social assistance: Hospitals and medical facilities that were stretched before the pandemic are over-stressed now, with some 18,150 job vacancies, a vacancy rate of 5.5 per cent.
Retail: Employers sought to fill 17,720 jobs in the second quarter, a vacancy rate of 5.9 per cent. Another sector hit hard by COVID-19 closures, retailers are now competing with everyone else trying to hire at the same time.
Professional and technical services: B.C.’s tech sectors, which proved to be an economic bright spot during the pandemic, are still experiencing enough growth that companies needed to fill some 13,175 positions in the second quarter, a vacancy rate of seven per cent.