Most New Jobs in Canada Part-time – Small and Medium Companies Facing Shutdown

Last week's surveys have shown that the number of jobs in Canada is growing, but a careful analysis of the data reveals that few new jobs are full-time. Most new jobs are in fact part-time.

In a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), 63% companies said that they were operating normally, but only 39% said that they were working with their full number of employees.

Around a fourth of the surveyed companies said that their sales had gone back to normal entirely.

Around 37% companies in Ontario, the economically strongest province in Canada, operate with a full number of employees. Companies in British Columbia work with 7% of the employees on average, and in Alberta, with 36% employees, which is below the national average.

As many as 46% companies in Quebec said that the number of hired workers was going back to the pre-pandemic levels, but it is clear that some workers that were laid off during the pandemic will never get their jobs back, as shown by the CFIB's data.

The CFIB estimates that a large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are facing shutdown, with the numbers estimated at 55,000 to 218,000, which is 5-19% of all SMEs.

Canadian Federation of Independent Business

CFIB

Ontario

British Columbia

Alberta

Quebec

jobs

number of jobs

full time employment

part time employment

layoffs

small enterprises

medium enterprises

SME