17000 Job Vacancies In New Brunswick

Nearly one-third of these firms in the province had at least one job vacancy that lasted for at least four months, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses reported Friday.

If all those vacancies were concentrated in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors, their employment numbers would be wiped out, said Andreea Bourgeois, New Brunswick spokeswoman for the federation.

The 4.7 per cent job vacancy rate the federation reported for 2007 was the highest in at least four years. The rate increased from 3.1 per cent in 2004 to 3.7 per cent the following year. The rate did not change in 2006.

"This is a huge loss of opportunity for the province, for businesses, for everyone," said Bourgeois. "These people could be working, brining money to their homes and paying taxes to the province."

The federation's report came on the same day that Statistics Canada released its labour market study for last month. The study found New Brunswick's labour force grew by 2,400 people between January and February, and employment ballooned by 2,700 jobs.

Roughly 32,500 people were unemployed in the province last month, down slightly from the 32,800 people reported to be unemployed in January.

Meanwhile, the estimated 17,000 job vacancies that have lasted for at least four months in New Brunswick were the highest in Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia was next, with 16,000 vacancies, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported 7,000. Prince Edward Island saw 5,000 vacancies.

Nationally, Ontario reported the highest number of long-term vacancies, with 97,000, while Alberta saw 54,000. The total number in Canada was 309,000.

The 2007 estimates are based on the responses of roughly 9,250 business owners to surveys conducted across the country in March, June, September and December.

The results show small and medium-sized businesses in New Brunswick's construction sector were the most concerned with the labour shortage that is causing job vacancies across the province. Nearly 60 per cent of these firms voiced the concern.

The transportation and communications sectors were next on the list, with 59 per cent reporting concerns for the labour shortage.

Provincially, 46 per cent shared the concern.

"This is an ongoing problem that unfortunately is not going anywhere, and it's high time that we start making long-term solutions," said Bourgeois.

The Liberal government must focus on drawing more immigrants to the province, allowing seniors to return to the workforce and attracting First Nations, the fastest growing populations in the country, to the provincial labour pool, she said.

The government promises to boost the province's population to 100,000 by 2026, the deadline of the self-sufficiency agenda.

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