Ottawa using bad data to determine shortages, Alberta labour group says

The federal government uses faulty data to determine what sectors suffer from labour shortages, according to a new report by the Alberta Federation of Labour.

The federal government relies on manpower surveys from agencies such as the Canadian Federation of Small Business to determine if more temporary foreign workers are needed, says federation president Gil McGowan.

But those surveys are basically “self-reporting” by employers who want to convince the federal government to increase availability of temporary foreign workers, said McGowan.

Instead, government should use the formula devised by federal experts years ago and based on three measures — demand for workers, wage growth and the unemployment rate in a specific job category.

A specific occupation is in shortage if the demand for workers is 50-per-cent higher than for the overall economy, if wage growth is 30-per-cent higher than average and if the unemployment rate in the sector is 30-per-cent below the average, according to the formula.

By that definition, Alberta definitely has a shortage of workers in oil and gas, construction and trucking — but not in food or service sectors where wages are stagnant, he said.

“There is too much reliance on temporary foreign workers, especially when there is a wide range of skills right here.”

HUNTER REID

For instance, gas station attendants in Fort McMurray have seen wages go up only 24 cents since 2008, to $10.85 an hour. (The federation obtained the wage figures from the federal and provincial governments.)

In the retail sector in Fort McMurray, hourly wages were $15.17, only down slightly from $15.56 in 2008.

Hourly wages for grocery clerks have dropped to $12.48 from $14.48 in 2008.

Two categories saw an increase in the last six years: cashiers earn $13.47 in 2014, up from $11.22 in 2008, while hotel clerks went up 30 per cent to $16 from $12.11 in 2008.

“When you use empirical measures, it becomes apparent we don’t have a shortage in low-wage categories,” said McGowan.

The federal government has not used its own formula for the past eight years and that’s unfortunate, he said.

Several other studies, including a May 2013 study from the University of Calgary school for public policy and a University of Lethbridge study, have found no evidence of a labour shortage but rather a skills mismatch in Canada.

Restaurant, bar and hotel owners who have trouble finding workers might have to pay a dollar or two more an hour and “raise the price of a cup of coffee,” said McGowan. “In a rising economy, that’s the way the market works.”

Meanwhile, a recruiting company with offices in Edmonton and Toronto says there are thousands of skilled Canadians willing to fill the jobs in Alberta, especially in Ontario where it is tougher to find jobs since the downturn.

“There is too much reliance on temporary foreign workers, especially when there is a wide range of skills right here,” said Hunter Reid of TDT Crews, which has placed 2,000 skilled workers, mostly in Alberta.

“We are finding a huge number who want to stay in their trade and they are willing to commute, especially if there is some basic assistance,” said Reid. But these workers can be overlooked, he said.