Manitoba has an opportunity for foreign nationals eyeing economic immigration programs to come to Canada with employers desperately looking for workers to fill available jobs.
In its Manitoba Labour Market Outlook Report 2021 – 2025, the province forecasts a shortage of 5,900 workers every single year through to the end of 2025.
“The Manitoba economy will see a total of 141,700 job openings between 2021 and 2025, with 57 per cent of these openings to replace worker retirements and deaths,” notes that report. “The forecasts predict approximately 28,300 total job openings per year.
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“Manitoba’s economy will see 112,100 new workers join the employed labour force between 2021 and 2025, or approximately 22,400 workers per year.”
With that ongoing paucity of people to fill positions, the Prairie province is expected to increasingly turn to immigration to deal with its labour shortages.
With the province expected to close this year with 3.6 per cent real GDP growth and show economic growth of 1.2 per cent next year and 1.4 per cent in 2024, the agricultural and manufacturing sectors are doing well.
“Manufacturers … are enjoying an impressive year with shipments up 20 per cent through July versus the same period last year,” noted TD Economics economists Beata Caranci, Derek Burleton, Rishi Sondhi, and Jenny Duan in their provincial outlook in late September.
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“Within manufacturing, food manufacturing is performing well, boosted by production from the new, large-scale pea-processing plant and a newly-expanded meat processing facility. Notably, production at both facilities came online late last year. Shipments of chemicals have also risen sharply, supported by fertilizer products.”
In the province, there were 29,715 job vacancies in September, reports Statistics Canada.
In a report released in December, the statistical and demographic services agency also noted that full-time employment in the province had grown by 11,100 jobs in the year that ended in November.
Here are the top 10 most in-demand jobs in Manitoba:
1. Registered Nurses (NOC 31301)
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses provide direct nursing care to patients, deliver health education programs and provide consultative services regarding issues relevant to the practice of nursing.
In early December, there were 1,409 job listings for nurses in Manitoba on the Indeed.ca job website. Job Bank, the federal government’s job-hunting website, gives five stars, its highest rating, to the job prospects for registered nurses in all provinces across Canada.
According to Job Bank data, this occupation comes with a median annual wage of $81,900 in Manitoba based on a 37.5-hour work week.
2. Heavy Equipment Mechanics (NOC 72401)
Repairing, troubleshooting, adjusting, overhauling and maintaining the mobile heavy-duty equipment used in construction, transportation, forestry, mining, oil and gas, material handling, landscaping, land clearing and farming lets heavy equipment mechanics earn an annual median income of $62,400 in Manitoba, based on Job Bank data for a 37.5-hour work week.
In early December, Indeed had 123 job listings for heavy equipment mechanics in Manitoba and Job Bank estimated the job prospects for this occupation as moderately good.
“This occupational group is expected to face labour shortage conditions over the period of 2019-2028 at the national level,” noted Job Bank.
3. Heavy Equipment Operators (NOC 73400)
Those workers who operate the heavy equipment used in the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, airports, gas and oil pipelines, tunnels, buildings and other structures, in surface mining and quarrying activities, and in material handling work are in hot demand.
Indeed.ca listed 102 jobs for heavy equipment operators in Manitoba in early December and Job Bank shows these workers earn a median annual income of $52,650 based on a standard work week in that province.
They are typically employed by construction companies, heavy equipment contractors, public works departments and pipeline, logging, cargo-handling and other companies.
4. Transport Truck Drivers (NOC 73300)
The demand for truck drivers to deliver parcels skyrocketed during the pandemic and retiring Baby Boomers in the industry means an even greater demand for younger drivers to replace them.
In early December, the Indeed job website listed 618 jobs for truckers in the province and Job Bank was then carrying ads for 195 such jobs.
The median annual income for a trucker working a standard work week in Manitoba is $42,900.
5. Cooks (NOC 63200)
Restaurateurs in Manitoba are in dire need of cooks as the hospitality sector faces an unprecedented labour shortage.
There were 543 jobs for cooks in Manitoba in early December, according to Indeed. Job Bank listed 180 such positions.
It’s not the highest-paying work. The median annual income for a cook in Manitoba, based on a 37.5-hour work week, is $26,35 but there are a lot of jobs in the hospitality sector in the province.
6. Food And Beverage Servers (NOC 65200)
Restaurateurs in Manitoba are also facing a serious labour shortage when it comes to servers with 292 jobs for servers in the province in early December, according to Indeed.
The median annual income for a server before tips in Manitoba, based on a 37.5-hour work week, is $26,325.
7. Software Developers (NOC 21232)
As the people who write, modify, integrate and test computer code for software applications, data processing applications, operating systems-level software and communications software, software developers are in hot demand.
“This is one of the top jobs in part because businesses of all types and sizes need developers to create app solutions, develop or maintain in-house software or help implement cloud or other technologies,” notes Randstad.
“One of the lessons learned during COVID-19 lockdowns in recent years was that technology could make or break a business. Companies that seamlessly transitioned into remote work environments often fared better. Add to that the growing need to rely on data and automation to remain competitive, and it’s no wonder so many businesses are on the hunt for skilled developers.”
In Manitoba, software developers earn a median annual wage of $72,501 based on a standard, 37.5-hour work week, Job Bank data reveals. The Indeed job website had 152 such job listings in Manitoba in early December.
8. Accountant (NOC 11100)
When an economy rebounds, someone’s got to keep track of the money, a task that falls within the realm of the accountant.
Accountants plan, organize and administer the accounting systems that keep track of that money for businesses, individuals and governments.
In early December, Indeed had 225 job listings for accountants in Manitoba where the median annual income for these professionals was $68,250 based on Job Bank data for a standard, 37.5-hour work week.
The federal government job-hunting website rates the job prospects for accountants in Manitoba as “good.”
9. Construction Trades Helper (NOC 75110)
These are the people who work at construction sites, in quarries and in surface mines, usually for construction companies, trade and labour contractors, and surface mine and quarry operators.
In early December, Indeed had 221 job listings for those wanting to work in the construction trades in Manitoba and Job Bank data shows the median annual income for these workers is $39,000 in that province based on a standard, 37.5-hour work week.
10. Retail Sales Associates (NOC 64100)
Every store has retail sales associates, those people who sell, rent or lease a range of technical and non-technical goods and services directly to consumers.
In Manitoba, Indeed noted there were 627 jobs in sales in early December, well after the big, seasonal hiring blitz for the Christmas shopping season.
Based on a 37.5-hour week, the median annual income of a retail sales associate in that province is $26,325.