In-Demand Jobs in Quebec: the 36 Occupations Facing a Labour Shortage Through 2029

This list doesn't come from us. It reproduces the report Labour market balance in the short and medium term, 2026 edition (in French only), published by the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, now the Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, with its labour-market partners. Every year, the ministry compares the expected workforce with employers' needs for 516 occupations, for Quebec as a whole and for each region.

Each occupation receives one of five diagnoses: shortage, slight shortage, balance, slight surplus or surplus. According to the ministry, an occupation in shortage or slight shortage will offer “excellent job prospects” to people who have the required qualifications or who obtain them during the period. For 2029, Quebec as a whole counts 36 occupations in shortage, 170 in slight shortage and 217 in balance.

Our choice: we list only the 36 occupations in shortage, in the order used by the report, which ranks them by the number of regions reporting a shortage or a slight shortage (out of 16 regions). We add no criteria of our own and don't score the jobs.

The table follows the report's order. Each occupation links to its official profile on Québec.ca (tasks, hourly wage, prospects by region). The training column comes from the second digit of the NOC code, which is Statistics Canada's TEER category: the training, education or experience the occupation usually requires.

• TEER 1: a university degree.
• TEER 2: a college program of 2 to 3 years, or an apprenticeship of 2 to 5 years.
• TEER 3: a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training.
• TEER 4: completed high school.
• TEER 5: a short work demonstration, with no formal education required.

A low number in the last column usually means that most regions have no diagnosis for that occupation in the report, not that they have enough workers. Cardiology technologists, for example, have a diagnosis only for Quebec as a whole.

According to the ministry, nearly 1.3 million jobs will need to be filled in Quebec from 2025 to 2034. About 80% will come from people leaving the labour market, mainly through retirement, and 20% from new jobs. Total employment would grow by 0.5% a year on average.

The market has cooled, though. The report notes a drop of nearly 134,000 vacant positions, or 54.5%, between the end of 2021 and the third quarter of 2025. For the first time in four years, fewer occupations are in shortage or slight shortage (206) than in balance (217).

The occupations most in shortage are concentrated in health (physicians, nurses, technologists, psychologists), in education and social services (teachers, early childhood educators, social workers), in some mechanical and technical trades, and in agriculture.

Excellent prospects don't mean a guaranteed job. The ministry talks about prospects for people “who have the required qualifications”. Several health occupations on the list are regulated: you need a permit from a professional order before practising them. Our guide Recognizing your foreign diplomas in Quebec explains the process.

Also look at your region. An occupation in shortage for Quebec as a whole can be in slight shortage in your region, and the reverse. Table A of the report gives each region's diagnosis, and advises people in regions partly included in the Montreal or Quebec City metropolitan areas to check those areas too. For Montreal, see our guide In-demand jobs in Montreal.

These diagnoses are also used in immigration. According to the report, the Quebec immigration ministry uses them to award points in the PSTQ declaration-of-interest system and to set the list of occupations eligible for simplified processing in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. See our guide on the PSTQ.

To learn more about a job (tasks, training, wage, prospects in your region), look it up in Exploring Trades and Occupations on Québec.ca.

Here are the concrete steps to check where your trade stands. Check each box as you go — your progress is saved if you're signed in.

The most common questions about Quebec's in-demand jobs: shortage versus slight shortage, what it means if your job isn't on the list, how to find your NOC code, how often the list changes, and whether it matters for immigration.

These related guides may be useful:

• In-demand jobs in Montreal — the same report, for the Montreal region and the Montreal metropolitan area.
• Recognizing your foreign diplomas in Quebec — the first step if your occupation is regulated.
• PSTQ: Quebec's skilled worker selection program — where these diagnoses count for permanent immigration.
• Finding a job in Quebec — the platforms and approaches that work locally.

For official, up-to-date information, see these sites:

• Gouvernement du Québec — Employment
• Statistics Canada