Graying of Canadas workforce threatens to worsen labor crunch

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Anna Mehler Papernyp

pTORONTO Reuters – Canadians nearing retirement outnumbered those entering the workforce by a record margin in 2021, census data released on Wednesday showed, raising fears the countrys labor shortage could worsen in coming years.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pAlthough Statistics Canada expects the gap to shrink before growing again around 2036, it warned that workingage Canadians share of the population was falling. Meanwhile, the number of those aged 85 and older is projected to triple by 2051. p

p“We have reached a stage where the workingage population has never been older,” said Julien BérardChagnon, senior analyst with Statistics Canadas Centre for Demography.p

pMore seniors are working at least parttime and they are helping their children and grandchildren, BérardChagnon said. But the shrinking workforce as a share of the population will present economic and fiscal challenges nonetheless, he said, creating a greater need for healthcare workers, for example – a field already in short supply.p

p“It concerns everybody.”p

pAs Canada faces a labor crunch – the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 last month – its government is increasingly relying on temporary residents – a quick fix some economists argue depresses wages and makes migrants vulnerable to exploitation.p

pEarlier this year the federal government announced it was further expanding its temporary worker programs, lifting limits on lowwage positions in seasonal industries and allowing certain sectors to hire up to 30 of their workforce through lowwage temporary foreign work, among other measures.p

pRetirementage residents make up a smaller share of Canadas population than in Germany, France, Italy and Japan, but it is larger than in the United States and United Kingdom, Statistics Canada said.p

pThe findings are “a warning shot across the bow” to Canadas government, said Armine Yalnizyan, an economist. She said they showed an imminent need to improve training and working conditions to optimize the workforce.p

p“We could be maximizing the potential of the people in our midst far more effectively, but we need a plan to do that. It doesnt just happen.”p

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pp Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny Editing by Paul Simaop

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