More than 280,000 Quebecers benefited from employment insurance benefits in October, while the labor market recorded an increase in demand for labor with 145,000 positions to fill.
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This is what emerges from an analysis of Statistics Canada data on vacant positions produced by the Institut du Québec (IDQ) which noted a historic jump compared to September, when the number of beneficiaries did not exceed the 67,000.
This exponential increase is explained by the transition of people previously benefiting from the Canadian emergency benefit (ECP) to employment insurance, according to the study by the IDQ.
With 145,000 vacant positions, Quebec recorded an all-time high with 4 jobs to be filled for every 100 jobs held in the labor market. This is the second highest rate in the country, behind British Columbia (4.2%).
In addition, the available workforce remained low in relation to the positions to be filled. As an indication, for every 100 vacant positions, 220 unemployed were looking for a job in October.
Despite the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, demand for labor remained high in several industries.
“Retail trade, accommodation and food services, construction and health care and social assistance have high job vacancy rates,” the IDQ said.
Conversely, the job vacancy rate remained low for the arts, entertainment and recreation industry, due to health restrictions.
The organization also notes the “significant” decline in salaried jobs paid by the hour compared to fixed-wage jobs.
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