Under Pressure: Tight Labour Markets Are Driving Major Change

Document Highlights:

Over the past two years, Canada’s labour market has gone from historic weakness at the beginning of the pandemic to epic highs. This has significant implications. Some highlights:

• Labour markets in Canada are the tightest they have been in decades.
• Employers are responding by changing hiring requirements, with fewer asking for formal educational credentials and experience, and more asking for specific skills and abilities.
• The labour markets are tightest among the sectors where remote work has been most prevalent. This is expected to lead to a “new normal” in attitudes about remote work among employers.
• The mix of employment in Canada has permanently changed. Some sectors have become permanently larger, while others will see only a gradual recovery in employment—if one occurs at all.