Representative image Labour shortage on Unsplash by Museums Victoria
Prince Edward Island/CMEDIA: Prince Edward Island ‘s labour shortage by which every sector from health care to agriculture and small business has been affected, has emerged as a major issue ahead of the April 3 provincial election.
With the province’s unemployment rate historically being one of the highest in the country, growth in the Island’s workforce hasn’t kept up with the growth rate in the number of jobs in recent years, Statistics Canada data has been showing.
All four of P.E.I.’s major political parties are promising to address the labour shortage.
The staffing shortage is the single biggest issue facing the chamber’s members, Kaley O’Brien, executive director of Summerside Chamber of Commerce was reported saying and added that businesses are losing money because of it.
“Right now it’s the ultimate conversation that we are experiencing with our membership,” O’Brien said, citing a recent survey.
“People are providing less service and less product due to inflation but…staffing constraints are forcing them down a path that they have to close their operations earlier than they ever have. They have to pick and choose when to be open around the labour shortage.”
The busy tourism season is on the horizon and some business owners are at a loss to find the workers to get them through the crunch.
“It’s the biggest fear for the tourism industry…We’re seeing employers needing to work the front line just because they can’t find the employees … and P.E.I. being a very tourism-based island, it is a growing fear, ” O’Brien said.
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