The labour market goes back to school

Don’t be surprised if you don’t get as many questions about your educational credentials in your next job interview—the tight labour market and large number of job vacancies have more employers dropping requirements for post-secondary degrees.

Driving the news: Job openings requiring at least a bachelor’s degree dropped from 46% in 2019 to 41% this year, according to new US data reported by The Wall Street Journal.

  • Instead of university degrees, more employers are now looking at on-the-job experience and non-traditional skills certification—like private coding boot camps—to evaluate candidates.

Why it’s happening: It’s a worker’s labour market, for a change. There are over 10 million job vacancies in the US (with fewer than 6 million people looking for work), which means employers have to be less picky about who they hire. 

  • Canada has a similar labour shortage (twinsies!)—the number of unemployed people per job opening is at a historic low, according to Statistics Canada.

Yes, but: A university degree is still a flex, at least for now—workers in their 40s with a university degree earn 53% more than workers of the same age without a degree, according to the Bank of Canada.

  • But that earnings bonus is falling—in 1997, a university degree-holder commanded 63% more pay.

Bottom line: Today’s tight labour market is forcing more employers to revisit yesterday’s rules of thumb around hiring.