Laval News | According to the MEQ, Quebec’s manufacturing/export sector is suffering from a labor shortage. | So Good News

The lobby group said 39 percent of businesses plan to move out of state.

According to the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters (MEQ), the province’s manufacturing sector lost at least $356 million last year due to ongoing labor shortages.

The losses are increasing.

MEQ represents 1,100 producers across Quebec. The manufacturing sector in Quebec employs more than 497,000 people and represents 12.6 percent of gross domestic product and 86.1 percent of exports.

Losses include canceled contracts; The lobby group said the losses were due to repeated delays and delayed or canceled investments.

The work is not finished.

According to an annual survey conducted by the association, Laval Almost all businesses in the Laurentians and Lanaudière confirmed an average of 27 job vacancies.

One of the immediate results, according to the MEQ, is that 39 percent of businesses in the three regions have at least seriously considered relocating to another part of the world or subcontracting work to other contractors. Regions

Fifty-four percent of respondents said the labor shortage is affecting workers’ mental health. Among the industrial sectors in Quebec most affected by labor shortages are transportation; Manufacture of parts and materials for machinery manufacturing and food industry.

Quebec is not enough.

Low-paying jobs are hard to fill, though. Competitive paychecks are the most difficult for employees to find. According to the MEQ, nearly half of the vacant positions are in the $20 to $29 hourly range, and 38 percent pay more than $30 an hour. Six in 10 businesses surveyed think the state government could do more to alleviate the problem.

“While we are talking more and more about the economic recession, Quebec and its regions need more for prosperous businesses,” said Véronique Proulx, president and executive director of the MEQ.

“We need people to be able to compete with international players. There is no magic solution to solve the underlying problems of labor shortages in the manufacturing sector. But Quebec; the Laurentians; It is possible to use a series of levers to ease the impact on our operations in Lanaudière and Laval.”

He questioned immigration restrictions.

Among other things, CAQ government’s current restrictions on immigration levels; He noted the increasing number of manufacturers benefiting from training programs as factors affecting the pace and conditions of automation and robotics.

“We are at the dawn of a recession, so the government should be prioritizing the labor shortage while accelerating manufacturing activities, which are the backbone of our region’s economic development,” added Proulx.