OTTAWA — A new survey of Canadian manufacturers has found 82 per cent are facing labour shortages and 75 per cent feel their hiring troubles are even worse than last year.
The survey of 445 companies conducted by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters in October found a lack of workers and material shortages have caused the sector’s recovery from the onset of COVID-19 to grind to a near halt.
About 77 per cent of the respondents say attracting and retaining quality workers is their biggest concern followed by 60 per cent worried about rising material costs and 47 per cent fretting about supply chain challenges.
Forty-two per cent of the respondents say their companies have lost or turned down contracts or paid later delivery penalties because of a lack of workers.
More than 80 per cent say their workforce would be anywhere from one per cent to more than 10 per cent larger if there were no labour shortages.
The companies say they are most in need of workers to fill general labour and assembly jobs or to take on skilled production roles like welders and machinists.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
