RBC Report: Businesses Need to Look at “Under-utilized” Talent Sources Right Now
Dean Askin, Communications Strategist
Filed under In the News, Disability Awareness and Confidence, Inclusive Hiring
A new RBC Economics report published July 12 is the latest reinforcement that businesses must access the disability talent pool to remain successful down the road.
The report notes some key things in 2021 that are affecting the labour shortage in this country.
First, baby-boomer retirements are this year increasing again, after people delayed retiring in 2020 because of the pandemic. About 125,000 retirements are expected in the second half of this year. The “surge in retirements will worsen Canada’s already declining labour force participation rate,” RBC says.
The report also notes, “people are once again willing to quit if unsatisfied with their current roles,” with confidence that they can find a new job. This is one of “the clearest signs” that the labour market is recovering, says RBC.
There were 550,000 job vacancies in the first quarter of 2021, according to the report.
As well, there’s a 3.6% vacancy rate across all business and industrial sectors.
“As shortages grow, so will the urgency for Canada to turn to new and under-utilized sources of labour force growth,” affirms RBC in the July report.
This statement in the RBC report suggests that now’s the time for employment service providers to connect with businesses with labour needs. Job seekers who have a disability are part of the world’s largest minority group, which is also the most under-utilized and unemployed minority group in the world. There are over 600,000 Canadians who have a disability, who can, and want to, work.