Labour Shortage may Require Increase in Immigration

A looming and “severe” labour shortage will put “significant strain” on Canada's public and private pension system, according to a study by Watson Wyatt Canada.

The consulting company predicts that over the coming decade, Canada's pool of workers will grow more slowly than the population, then stagnate, before shrinking in the 2020s and eventually lead to a labour shortage. . . . In Canada, fertility rates have fallen below replacement levels but robust immigration levels will sustain meagre population growth over the long-term, the study found.

It put forth a number of suggestion on how countries can counter the problem: allow older workers to keep working, increase immigration, or being into the labour market previously untapped workers such as younger people and women.