Increasing unemployment, disincentivized job seekers, and another two months of CERB – what does this mean for the job market?
The Canadian government recently announced that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) will be extended for another two months. Millions of Canadians will have maxed out their CERB allowance (a total of $8000) by July 4th. It remains unclear whether CERB will be amended or a different form of government support will be provided.
For those still eligible for CERB, they can continue to receive $2,000 per month while the Canadian government encourages recipients to take available work, however many are disincentivized to seek employment. Why?
The Reason for Disincentivized Job Seekers
First, for those who can lean on their savings, $2,000 per month is enough to get by and spend more time with family. For those unemployed even before COVID-19 or access to CERB became available, this transition period between employment has become a lifestyle. Participation in the remote candidate process is not nearly as engaging, and equally de-motivating. Secondly, job seekers are being constantly reminded of job market competitiveness, which can reduce self-confidence and motivation to apply for jobs that are now receiving thousands of applications.
Nevertheless, for some Canadians CERB’s $2000 monthly allowance is simply not enough. There are 1.4 million unemployed Canadians who don’t qualify for EI or CERB and thus very motivated to find employment.
Our observations
At Envol, we have noticed a number of impacts based on the CERB. Like many employers, we’ve seen an increase in no-shows for interviews and a higher volume of applications. This is putting our candidate conditioning and resume screening skills to the test! But it’s not all bad news! For senior roles, we’ve also seen more high calibre talent actively seeking new roles than ever before.
Caveat: we have found variation in seniority levels correlates to applicant pool size & quality.
Here’s what we’ve noticed:
| Senior Role | Mid-Career Role | Junior Professional Role | |
| # Applications | High | Low | High |
| Qualified applicants | High | Moderate | Low |
| Trends/Insights | Applicants are of high calibre and are a strong fit for the role
More talent to choose from Competitive for job seekers, many seem to have been let go because of COVID-19 and are seeking their ‘next home’ |
Low applicant volume
Average qualification Some reluctance for candidates to move between roles, greater emphasis on stability COVID-19 didn’t have as direct an impact on this cohort, who are more concerned about stability in their next career phase |
High volume of applicants with minimal experience who were laid off because of COVID-19
Strong transferrable skills |
| Example role | Operations Manager
500+ applicants in 7 days |
Senior Accountant, Private Sector
125 applicants in 7 days |
Office Coordinator
750+ applicants in 7 days |
Struggling to attract the candidates you want? Say hello: [email protected].