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Workplace Survey: Job Vacancies and Skills Shortages

Labour Statistics Division

Survey Objective

The Workplace Survey will provide valuable information on the demand side of the labour market. It will collect information from Canadian employers on a range of labour issues, such as labour turnover, green jobs, foreign workers, job vacancies, hard-to-fill jobs and their impacts for employers, as well as current and future skills-shortage vacancies in the economy.

Human resources professionals and employers alike will obtain unique insights into both the nature and extent of recruitment difficulties and skills shortages in the labour market as well as valuable information on industry training needs.

As the respondent, you will benefit from completing this questionnaire by having the ability to use the data to establish benchmarks for your company’s labour dynamics.

Confidentiality

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from publishing any statistics which would divulge information relating to any identifiable business without the previous written consent of that business. The data reported on this questionnaire will be treated in strict confidence. They will be used exclusively for statistical purposes and will be published in an aggregate form only.

Your Participation

The participation of your business in this survey is critical to ensure that the results are an accurate reflection of your industry, region and type of business. This survey is collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19. Completion of this survey is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act. We thank you for your cooperation and support.

Instructions

A Statistics Canada interviewer will contact you to arrange a convenient time to conduct a telephone interview. This questionnaire is a working tool to inform you ahead of time of the questions that are being asked and to help you in preparing the answers. Filling out this questionnaire prior to being contacted will facilitate data capture and reduce the interview time. Alternatively, please return this completed paper questionnaire in the enclosed pre-paid envelope within 21 days of receipt.

Coverage

Please complete this questionnaire for the business location appearing on the label of this questionnaire. For the purpose of this survey, “location” refers to the specific address appearing on the label of this questionnaire.

Record Linkages

To enhance the data from this survey, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Need Help?

Please see the guide ‘Concepts and definitions for your reference’ for further explanation.

For assistance and information please call the number provided in the label area.

You may also visit Statistics Canada’s website at www.statcan.gc.ca for this questionnaire and FAQ’s.

The Workplace Survey

For the purpose of this survey, “location” refers to the specific address appearing on the label of this questionnaire. Please consult the label on the front page, and report for only this address. Do not combine information with any other location.

Please include only paid employees of this location receiving a T4 slip (not a T4a).Employees include those who work on-site, off-site (such as customer service representatives or telecommuters) and those who are on paid leave as well as temporary help and casual workers.

Section A: Workforce Characteristics

Demographics

This section includes questions relating to the characteristics of the employees at this location.

A1. Was this location in operation during the entire 12-month period between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011?

Yes Go to Question A2
No Specify period of operation
From: (yyyy/mm/dd)
To: (yyyy/mm/dd)

A2. In the last pay period of December 2011 and in the last pay period of December 2010, how many employees receiving a T4 statement (but not a T4A statement) were working at this location?

Please do not include independent contractors.

Independent Contractor: A person providing products or services under contract at your location but for whom the completion of a Canada Revenue Agency T4 statement is not required. This person may be an employee of another business or a home worker (computer consultant, piecework seamstress, etc.). Independent contractors should not be included in Questions A1 to D4. Independent contractors may receive a T4A statement from this location.

December 2011
December 2010
If you reported zero employees in last pay period of December 2011, Go to Question A3, otherwise Go to Question A4

A3. Why did this location have no paid employees in December 2011?

Seasonal operation Go to Question B1
Temporarily closed Go to Question B1
Ceased operation Go to Question B1

A4. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were male and how many were female?

Please include only employees of this location. Your best estimate is acceptable.

Male
Female

A5. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories? Your best estimate is acceptable.

Please make sure that the total number of employees reported in Question A5 agrees with the total reported in Question A2. Please do not include independent contractors.

Under 25 years of age
25 to 44 years of age
45 to 54 years of age
55 to 64 years of age
65 to 69 years of age
70 years of age and older
Total employees

A6. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

Please make sure that the total number of employees reported in Question A6 agrees with the total reported in Questions A2. Please do not include independent contractors.

Permanent employee: An employee who has no set termination date (include tenured teachers).

Non-permanent employee: An employee who has a set termination date or an agreement covering the period of employment (temporary, seasonal or casual).

Permanent employees
Non-permanent employees
Total employees

A7. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

Please make sure that the total number of employees reported in Question A7 agrees with the total reported in Question A2. Please do not include independent contractors.

Full-time employee: An employee working 30 or more hours per week, excluding overtime.

Part-time employee: An employee working less than 30 hours per week, excluding overtime.

Full-time
Part-time
Total employees

A8. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were in the following categories?

Please see the employee category definitions in the guide ‘Concepts and Definitions for your Reference’.

Please include only employees at this location.

Please make sure that the total number of employees reported in Question A8 agrees with the total reported in Question A2. Please do not include independent contractors.

Managers and Executives
Professionals (including professional supervisors)
Technical (including technical supervisors)
Trades
Apprentices
Sales and Marketing
Administrative and Clerical
Production or Service Workers
Other
Total employees

A9. Of the total number of employees in December 2011, as reported in Question A2, how many were covered by a collective agreement?

Section B: Job Vacancies and Labour Turnover

B1. Please complete the table below.

If there were no hirings, no separations and no vacancies, in 2011 enter zero for each category and go to Question D1, otherwise go to Question B2.

Total number of hires from January 1 to December 31, 2011
Include

A hire is any addition to your payroll from January 1 to December 31, 2011 and includes:

New hire or a previously separated rehire
The position can be permanent, temporary, or seasonal
Recall from layoff
On-call employees who returned to work after having been separated
Workers who were hired and separated during the same year
Transfers from other locations

Exclude

Transfers or promotions within this location
Employees returning from a strike
Independent contractors or consultants
Employees of temporary help agencies (unless your business is a temporary help agency)
Volunteers
Substitute teachers returning during the same school year

Total number of separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011
Include

All separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011 (quits, retirements, dismissals, permanent layoffs, temporary layoffs and other separations).

Exclude

Transfers within this location
Employees on strike
Employees of temporary help agencies (unless your business is a temporary help agency)
Independent contractors or consultants
Volunteers
Substitute teachers who are between assignments

Total number of vacant positions on December 31, 2011
Include

A job is vacant if it meets all three conditions:

A specific position exists
Work could start within 30 days
You are actively seeking workers from outside this location to fill the position

The position can be full-time or part-time, temporary, permanent, seasonal or on call, etc.

Exclude

Positions to be filled by promotion/demotion, internal transfers or recall from layoffs
Positions with start dates more than 30 days in the future
Positions for which employees have been hired, but the employees have not yet reported for work
Positions to be filled by employees of temporary help agencies, volunteers, independent contractors or consultants

Total number of hard-to-fill positions from January 1 to December 31, 2011
Include

Hard-to-fill positions are hirings in 2011 or vacancies on December 31, 2011 that an employer struggles to fill.

These are positions for which the search for workers takes longer than usual or lasts longer than originally planned.

B2. Of the total number of separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011, as reported in Question B1, how many were in the following categories?

Please make sure that the total number of separations reported in Question B2 agrees with the total reported in Question B1.

Quits
Include

Voluntary separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011

Retirements
Include

Retirements from January 1 to December 31, 2011

Dismissals and Permanent layoffs
Include

Involuntary separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011 which includes:

Dismissals/firings or other discharges for cause
Discharges resulting from mergers, downsizing or closings
Permanent layoffs (layoffs with no intent to rehire )

Temporary layoffs
Include

Temporary layoffs from January 1 to December 31, 2011

Employees that are expected to be recalled
Terminations of short-term, or seasonal employees that are expected to return next season

Other separations
Include

Other separations from January 1 to December 31, 2011

Transfers to other locations
Employee disability (long term) or deaths

If the business was temporarily closed or has ceased operation, Go to Section E

B3. Of the number of hires, separations, vacancies and hard-to-fill positions at this location, as reported in Question B1, how many were in the following categories?

Please make sure that the number of hires, the number of separations, the number of vacancies and the number of hard-to-fill positions reported in the last row of Question B3 agree with the same numbers reported in Question B1.

Please see the employee category definitions in the guide ‘Concepts and definitions for your reference’.

Hires in 2011 (Positions filled)
Separations in 2011 (quits, layoffs/dismissals, retirements and other)
Vacancies as of December 31, 2011 (unfilled positions)
Hard-to-fill positions from January 1 to December 31, 2011 (filled or vacant positions)

Managers and Executives
Professionals (including professional supervisors)
Technical (including technical supervisors)
Trades
Apprentices
Sales and Marketing
Administrative and Clerical
Production or Service Workers
Other
TOTAL

B4. What were the impacts of the hard-to-fill positions identified in Question B3? Please check all that apply.

No particular problems
Lose business to competitors
Delay developing new products or services
Have difficulties meeting quality standards
Increase operating costs
Have difficulties introducing new work practices
Increase workload for other staff
Outsource work or contract out
Decrease productivity
Other impacts
Please specify:

B5. Of the total number of hires in 2011, how many were filled through your active use of the temporary foreign worker program or permanent immigration system?

Canadian employers can hire an individual who is not a permanent resident of Canada to work temporarily in the country. This can be accomplished through:

Temporary Foreign Worker Program – employers recruit foreign workers (with a variety of skill levels) to meet temporary labour shortages.

Employers can also offer a full-time job to an individual who is not a permanent resident of Canada and support their permanent immigration to Canada. This can be accomplished through a number of ways:

Arranged Employment Offer (Permanent) – employers recruit or retain skilled workers to fill a full-time, permanent position in their organization.

Provincial Nominee Program (Permanent) – employers work with a province or territory to recruit or retain workers (with a variety of skill levels) on a permanent, full-time basis.

If you have not hired employees through the active use of the temporary foreign worker program or permanent immigration system, please report zero in each field below.

Number of Temporary Foreign Workers recruited
Number of skilled workers recruited or retained with an Arranged Employment Offer
Number of workers recruited or retained with a Provincial Nomination

B6. Of the total number of hires in 2011, how many were to fill “Green Jobs”?

Green jobs are jobs whose main responsibility or function is to directly protect, conserve, or restore the natural environment or support the transition to a greener economy, either through technology, innovative processes or specialized skills and knowledge.

The main activities of workers in green jobs may include, but are not limited to one or more of the following:

Environmental Protection – e.g., environmental remediation, carbon capture and storage, pollution prevention technologies.
Green Energy – e.g., solar panels, smart grid technologies, biofuels.
Energy Efficient Construction – e.g., the construction of new green buildings, energy retrofit, geothermal heating, solar panel installation.
Green Manufacturing and Transportation – e.g., hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Green Services – e.g. Green House Gas (GHG) auditing, GHG trading, carbon trading, green building architectural services.

If you have not hired any employees in the following categories, please report zero in each field below.

Number of Green jobs filled
Number of Green jobs that were vacant on December 31, 2011
Number of Green jobs that were hard-to-fill (both hires and vacancies)

Section C: Specific Occupations Filled and Unfilled in 2011

C1. Of the total hires at this location in 2011, as reported in Question B1 please provide the job titles as well as a description of the most important activities or duties for the 3 most frequent hirings.

If you had multiple hirings with the same job title and description, please report all hirings for that occupation only once. Please start with the occupation for which you hired the most employees in 2011 (i.e. most frequent).

For example, if you hired 5 sales clerks, please report ‘sales clerk’ as the job title and 5 as the number of hires with the same job title and job description. Please report separations, vacancies and hard-to-fill positions in the same manner.

Occupation 1: most frequently hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

Occupation 2: second most frequently hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

Occupation 3: third most frequently hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

If the sum of the three most frequent hires, reported in Question C1 is equal to the number of hires reported in Question B1, Go to Question C3, otherwise go to Question C2.

C2. Please now report for the 3 most recently hired occupations in 2011, not counting the occupations reported in Question C1.

If you had multiple hirings with the same job title and description, please report all hirings for that occupation only once.

Occupation 4: most recent hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

Occupation 5: second most recent hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

Occupation 6: third most recent hired occupation during the year

A. Job title (e.g. construction worker, waiter/waitress, retail sales clerk, or financial analyst)
B. Job description (e.g. pouring concrete, waiting on tables, selling goods to consumers, or collecting and analyzing financial information)

In 2011, how many employees were hired at this location with the same job title and job description?
In 2011, how many employees separated from their jobs at this location with the same job title and job description?
On December 31, 2011, how many job vacancies were there at this location with the same job title and job description?
How many of these positions filled in 2011 or vacant on December 31, 2011 were hard-to-fill?

C3. Considering now only the hard-to-fill vacancies identified in Question C1 and in Question C2, what were the reasons they were hard-to-fill?

If there were no hard-to-fill positions for an occupation, please leave the corresponding column blank.

Please check all that apply for each occupation.