Date: 07 September 2022

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.
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. This shortage in skills is costing the Canadian
economy billions of dollars, according to a report by the Conference Board of
Canada. The report estimates the unrealized value of skills vacancies to have
been $25 billion in 2020, up from $15 billion in 2015.
Newco Construction welcomes aspiring trades people and invites home those
who have travelled west for employment over the past number of years!

Media Contact

Contact Person: Meg Rossiter
Contact Email: mrossiter@newco.ca