Assessing Job Vacancies in Express Entry Category-Based Draws

 Canada's immigration minister, Sean Fraser, said on May 31 that they will start inviting people to apply for permanent residence based on their job skills this summer. They will look for people who can speak French well or who have work experience in these areas:

- Healthcare: This includes doctors, nurses, and other people who help sick or injured people.

- STEM: This stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This includes people who do research, invent things, or solve problems using math and science.

- Trades: This includes people who work with their hands such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors.

- Transport: This includes people who move people or goods from one place to another, such as drivers, pilots, and sailors.

- Agriculture and Agri-Food: This includes people who grow or make food, such as farmers, chefs, and bakers.

Why did they choose these areas?

They chose these areas because they need more workers in these fields in Canada. Many jobs are empty because there are not enough Canadians who can do them. They also asked different groups of people what they think about these areas, such as provinces, employers, workers, and immigrants.

Healthcare

Canada needs more healthcare workers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many healthcare workers in Canada came from other countries. The government wants to make it easier for them to stay in Canada and work as doctors or nurses in Canada.

In the last three months of 2022, there were about 144,000 empty jobs in healthcare in Canada. That means 6 out of 100 jobs were empty. The number of empty jobs in each province was:

- Ontario: 55,250

- Quebec: 40,105

- British Columbia: 17,705

- Alberta: 9,770

- Saskatchewan: 2,955

- Manitoba: 6,790

- Newfoundland: 2,250

- Nova Scotia: 4,780

- New Brunswick: 2,630

- PEI: 685

- Northwest Territories: 565

STEM Professions

STEM professions are usually part of the Professional, Scientific, and technical services category. This category had about 57,000 empty jobs in the last three months of 2022. That means 5 out of 100 jobs were empty. The number of empty jobs in each province was:

- Ontario: 24,525

- Quebec: 14,725

- British Columbia: 8,115

- Alberta: 5,515

- Saskatchewan: 895

- Manitoba: 630

- Newfoundland: 405

- New Brunswick: 595

- Nova Scotia: 1,110

- PEI: 200

We don't know how many empty jobs there were in the territories.

STEM professions are very important in Canada. A report from Statistics Canada said that Canada needs more people who can do STEM jobs because many older workers are retiring and technology is changing fast.

STEM professions also pay well compared to other jobs. The average hourly wage for STEM jobs was $35.80 in the last three months of 2022. The average hourly wage for the food service position was $16.35.

Trades

The trades category includes people who sell things in stores or to other businesses. There were about 31,000 empty jobs for people who sell things to other businesses and about 109,000 empty jobs for people who sell things in stores. The number of empty jobs in each province was:

- Ontario: 55,660

- Quebec: 34,495

- British Columbia: 19,215

- Alberta: 15,545

- Saskatchewan: 4,665

- Manitoba: 3,025

- Newfoundland: 895

- New Brunswick: 2,155

- Nova Scotia: 3,065

- PEI: 520 (only for people who sell things in stores)

Transport

The transport category includes people who move things or people around, such as drivers or warehouse workers. There were about 44,000 empty jobs in this category. The number of empty jobs has been going down since the start of 2021. The number of empty jobs in each province was:

- Ontario: 15,110

- Quebec: 7,950

- British Columbia: 9,060

- Alberta: 6,445

- Saskatchewan: 915

- Manitoba: 1,915

- Newfoundland: 210

- New Brunswick: 720

- Nova Scotia: 1,055

- PEI: 115

Agriculture and Agri-food

The agriculture and agri food category includes people who grow or make food such as farmers or bakers. There were about 11,000 empty jobs in this category. The number of empty jobs has been going down since the middle of 2021. The number of empty jobs in each province was:

- Ontario: 3,070

- Quebec: 1,950

- British Columbia: 2,475

- Alberta: 940

- Saskatchewan: 540

- Manitoba: 550

- New Brunswick: 720

- Nova Scotia: 425

- PEI: 130

Canada's immigration minister, Sean Fraser, said that they will invite more people to apply for permanent residence based on their skills in these areas this summer.

He said that this will help Canada get more workers that it needs in different places. He did not say when exactly these invitations will start.