TACKLING THE MAIN ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
Challenge N৹1 : Consistent drop in the availability of labour
Between 2013 and 2017 330 000 jobs will need to be filled in the Montréal CMA, 68 % of them (224 900) due to retirements.
In Quebec, retirement will affect certain skill levels more. From 2013 to 2022, over a third of managers will have to be replaced, and 31 % of professional positions (requiring a university education) will need to be filled. During the same period, a third of vacant positions will be filled by technical level jobs (requiring a college education).
This decline in the pool of potential workers directly influences corporate and economic growth and public finances.
Percentage of the population aged 20 to 64 compared with the total population of the Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA)
Source : Institut de la statistique du Québec
CHALLENGE N৹2 :Historically low productivity
Compared with 14 other major North American cities, the Montréal CMA is trailing when it comes to productivity.
This is a historical trend : growth in productivity was one of the lowest from 1981 to 2013(1,23 %, Center for Productivity and Prosperity, 2014 report).
This weak productivity impairs our ability to create wealth and diminishes our standard of living.
GDP per job in 2013
(thousands of dollars, PPP)
Source : IDQ, in cooperation with the Board of Trade and Montréal International
CHALLENGE N৹3 :Encouraging but weak outlook for growth
The city’s economic growth will be greater than that of Quebec and Canada overall, but will nevertheless remain weaker than that of the CMAs of Vancouver and Toronto.
Weak economic growth influences our ability to effectively finance public services.
Real growth in GDP
Source : Conference Board of Canada
We need to find ways to increase our productivity and wealth…
Recruiting skilled labour is one of the main challenges of businesses in the city.