New Report Examines Why Canadians are Unemployed Despite Record Job Openings

The Great Divide: Examining the Growing Chasm Between Job Seekers and Employers

Kitchener, ON - For the third consecutive month, there were more than 1 million job vacancies in June. Labour shortages continue to plague businesses in all sectors and regions of the country, with "help wanted" signs found in front of many businesses. At the same time, there are more than 1.2 million officially unemployed Canadians and almost half a million additional Canadians who want to work but are not currently looking for a job and are therefore not counted as unemployed.

With record high numbers of job vacancies and more than 1.5 million Canadians unemployed, what is keeping people from rejoining the workforce and filling these job openings?

The disconnect between unemployed Canadians and employers who are desperate for them to come off the sidelines is explored in a new white paper released today from Express Employment Professionals: " The Great Divide: The Chasm Standing Between Job Seekers and Employers ."

The new white paper identifies and delves into 10 common barriers:

1. Inflation and Wages
2. Transportation and Geography
3. Workplace Culture Expectations
4. Skills Mismatch and Lack of Training
5. Child Care 
6. Elder Care
7. Unpredictable Business Needs
8. Communication Issues
9. Work History and Criminal History
10. Health Issues and Concerns

Drawing from the real-life experiences of Express Employment Professionals franchise owners and the companies they serve from across Canada, as well as exclusive survey data prepared by The Harris Poll for Express and recent economic data, this paper examines those Canadians who are struggling to rejoin the labor force and why.  

"With so much competition for jobs out there, job seekers are better off to work with a workforce management company like Express, since we can connect you with many companies" said Michael Elliott, franchise owner of the Kitchener/Waterloo and London Express franchise offices. "Our research shows that there are many job seekers out there, yet conventional HR practices are not agile enough to respond to these job seekers in a timely manner, and the best candidates are moving on very quickly. What used to take days and weeks now needs to be completed in hours, otherwise the candidate can choose from many other employers. Again, the workforce management experts like Express have the scalability to screen and present many candidates."

"It is often assumed that people who aren't working can't find an open job, but the
situation is far more complicated," Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. "There are barriers standing between jobs and those who want to work. All of us need to understand these barriers so that we can eliminate or overcome them as a society."

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About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we're in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.