A record number of workers from the baby boom generation born after World War II threaten to double the labor shortage in Canada, according to a census conducted in 2021 and released on Wednesday.
 

The Canadian Statistics Agency said in a statement, "The number of people approaching retirement age has never been this high before," with more than one in five workers (21.8 percent) nearing the mandatory retirement age of 65.

The statement considered that the exit of the baby boom generation from the country's workforce constitutes "one of the factors behind the labor shortage facing some industries across the country."

The agency added that the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1965 have been retiring since 2011, but the rate is now accelerating and has reached "its highest level ever."

At the end of 2021, the government agency mentioned in a separate report that there were about one million job vacancies across Canada, more than double the previous year, mostly in the restaurant, construction, and nursing sectors.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented, "We have long seen this coming," adding that Ottawa has invested in educating and training young people "to enable them to fill the best jobs that support population growth," and has also increased immigrant intake to record levels.

Last month, Trudeau's government introduced a national childcare program to encourage more women to return to work sooner after giving birth.

However, it canceled an unpopular decision by the previous government to raise the retirement age to 67, which had exacerbated the labor crisis that raising the retirement age sought to avoid.

According to statistics, seven million Canadians out of the total population of 37 million are aged 65 or older, and the number of people aged 85 is expected to triple to 2.7 million in the coming decades.

The Canadian Statistics Agency said the demographic shift toward an aging population is partly due to a decline in fertility rates, with only 1.4 children born per woman, and the gradual increase in average life expectancy.

The statement pointed out that despite this trend, Canada remains a young country and has the largest proportion of youth among its population compared to G7 countries, after the United States and the United Kingdom.