KPMG publishes new labour market poll
KPMG published the results of its
Business Outlook Poll on Tuesday, finding that 79% of businesses say they need more workers with digital skills. Further, 68% are having a hard time hiring people with the skills they need. Cyber/information security and data analytics/analysis were ranked as the top skills. Regarding skills acquisition, 52% of surveyed businesses say they will consider recruiting outside of Canada, and 89% say they are investing in developing their workforce’s skillsets internally.
Statistics Canada releases multi-year plan for research, modeling, and data development
Statistics Canada released its
multi-year plan for research in August and is inviting users to provide feedback. In addition to disaggregating data to enable diversity and inclusion research; expanding core socio-economic indicators; and exploring predictive analytics (e.g., AI, ML), the agency plans to:
- Study the impact of digitization, telework, and robot adoption on labour and the economy
- Estimate the frequency and benefits of two skills strategies: “fine tuning” and “reskilling”
- Improve measurements of the gig economy in Canada
- Expand measures of intangible capital to include the value of data and databases
- Study the role of patents, sustainability initiatives, and clean tech in firm growth and dynamics
Canada, US court decisions highlight ongoing tensions in gig economy
A California county judge recently
struck down ballot measure, Proposition 22 for being unconstitutional. Passed in November 2022, Proposition 22 exempted app-based ride-share and delivery companies from a California state law requiring them to classify their drivers as employees and provide benefits and job protections.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
recently certified a $400 million class action lawsuit which argues that “Uber couriers meet the definition of employees under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, and should be entitled to minimum wage, vacation pay and other protections.”
Various digital economy consultations closing in September, October