Canadian employers are planning to hand out fewer promotions this year than in 2023, leaving less opportunity for a new crop of entry-level employees to get their foot in the door.
According to Bloomberg, the annual rate of promotions into management fell for virtually all working adults last year — with millennials being hit the hardest. That’s because the labour market has continued to soften after the hiring spree seen in 2022.
- During the pandemic, competition among employers led to a historic rate of job hopping and title inflation by managers handing out splashy senior titles to lure in workers.
- But these days, employers aren’t feeling the same pressures to hand out promotions, especially with population growth now outpacing new jobs in Canada in the last year.
Why it matters: The rate of promotions isn’t actually all that low, at least in historical terms. But workers who have watched their peers climb the corporate ladder over recent years are likely feeling some professional FOMO now that promotions are relatively harder to come by.
Bottom line: The promotion slump has coincided with a surge in Canadians working part-time hours, and not by choice. With fewer people jumping ship or moving up, the chance of those workers finding full-time work gets worse.