Thus, there were 139,400 vacant positions in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of 62,600 compared to the second quarter of 2023, the Institut de la statistique du Québec indicated Thursday.
The majority of these vacancies, 55.7%, were in four industries: retail trade, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and health care and social assistance.
These are not just low-wage or low-education positions, as 49,400 of these positions require at least a post-secondary degree and 27,200 require a university degree, the institute notes.
Moreover, the average salary for these vacant positions was $26.40 per hour, compared to $33.79 per hour for all salaried jobs. This is therefore far from the minimum wage of $15.75 per hour.
Unemployment
However, despite these 139,400 vacancies, the Institute of Statistics points out that there were 230,900 people looking for work.
“In comparison, for this quarter, there are approximately 230,900 unemployed people, of whom 81,900 have at most a high school diploma, 91,600 have at least a post-secondary diploma and 57,500 have a university diploma,” notes the ISQ.
“It should be noted that since there are more people looking for work than there are vacant positions for each level of education examined, there are therefore more people available than vacant positions. This is particularly the case for those requiring at least a post-secondary diploma, for which the number of unemployed people per vacant position is estimated at approximately 1.9 people,” notes the ISQ.
Still difficult
Véronique Proulx, President and CEO of the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters, confirms that the manufacturing sector has fewer vacancies than before. But difficulties remain for the sector.
“The pressure is less than it was a year or two ago, but it is still very difficult in our sector,” commented Ms. Proulx.
“And when we look ahead to the next three to five years, and we see all the retirements that are going to take place, it is very worrying to see that we do not have enough workers,” she adds.
She is particularly critical of the federal government’s recent decision to tighten the rules on temporary foreign workers. “It has cut into our access to temporary foreign workers, so it is putting even more pressure on manufacturers and on the Quebec economy.”
Similarly, the forestry industry, including sawmills, is in a phase of uncertainty, because of the expected decree on the protection of the forest caribou. These are jobs and businesses in the regions and in the processing industries that would be hit hard, she argues.
