The latest labour-market snapshot shows Victoria’s unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in Canada and B.C. is leading the pack when it comes to economic recovery, but it also paints a picture of a market that is starving for talent.
With nearly all sectors searching for talent, industry insiders say sustained economic recovery from the COVID pandemic could be in jeopardy if something isn’t done to draw more people into the workforce.
“The biggest fear is the recovery in tourism and other sectors will be stunted and halted because there’s not enough labour to get us up to capacity,” said Bill Lewis, general manager of the Magnolia Hotel and chair of the Hotel Association of Greater Victoria.
Lewis said having to scale back operations when there is money to be made has a ripple effect, leading to job cuts and lost tax revenue.
It’s a problem faced by all sectors, though hospitality, which is labour-intensive, has felt it more than others as the economy rebounds from the pandemic.
“Businesses aren’t able to realize the full extent of recovery,” said Krista Bax, chief executive of Go2HR, a human resources specialist for the tourism and hospitality sector in B.C.
Bax said hotels and restaurants have had to reduce hours, close on some days, block off vacant rooms for days and weeks at a time, and limit menus because they don’t have the staff to handle the business. “It really is hampering recovery efforts.”
Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey showed Victoria’s unemployment rate remained at 4.2 per cent in September, just behind Quebec City which had the lowest rate in the country at 4.1 per cent. The national rate was 6.9 per cent.
Victoria saw another surge of new jobs in the hospitality industry last month, which had 16,100 workers, an increase of 6,500 compared with the same time last year.
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There was also a jump in educational services over the past 12 months, with 18,900 employed in the sector, versus 14,300 in September 2020.
B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said the latest numbers are a sign of a strong recovery, noting the province has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Canada at 5.9 per cent.
He said the province added 12,300 jobs last month. Kahlon urged people to get vaccinated as a step toward normalcy and full recovery.
Bax said recovery will be complicated, especially in tourism, which lost nearly half its 320,000-person workforce within six weeks of the onset of the pandemic.
Much of that has come back, she said, but over the last 20 months, many people have switched to careers that are less volatile. Bax said relief measures like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which offered $2,000 a month to those whose work was affected by COVID, gave people time to re-evaluate their career paths and try something new.
The hospitality industry’s reputation was damaged by stops and starts due to public health orders, she said.
With every industry in B.C. on the hunt, attracting workers will not be simple, Bax said.
Labour has already been taxed by large numbers of baby boomers retiring every year, but with expanding industries and a strong economy, the competition for workers is at a peak.
Bax said the non-profit sector has been hit hard, too, and even Go2HR has had trouble finding staff. On top of tapping into international sources, the hospitality industry needs to figure out what a new generation of workers wants, while bringing back workers waiting on the sidelines, Bax said.
Victoria’s technology sector has been expanding rapidly, which has led to firms looking far afield to fill vacancies.
Dan Gunn, chief executive of the Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council, said VIATEC’s job board has seen about a 25 per cent increase in postings in recent months.
The construction sector, which Stats Canada showed now employs about 14,100, a drop from 17,000 in September last year, has also been booming in Victoria, with many companies trying to hire. .
Rory Kulmala, chief executive of the Vancouver Island Construction Association, said they have been dealing with a shortage for years, and have been running programs to interest young people and ensure work sites are supportive environments in order to retain workers.
Kulmala said they will be pushing governments to open up immigration to boost the labour force.
Lewis, from the hotel association, said the hospitality industry would like to see increased government investment in domestic training, along with a focus on immigration, which plays a key role in ensuring the industry is well staffed.
Lewis said the lack of international students over the last 20 months had an impact; many of those students had visas that allowed them to work.
He would also like to see an expansion and simplification of the temporary foreign worker program.
The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, which brings in refugees through government programs, has been fielding requests from companies looking for workers.
