Want ads and job boards in the Yukon are already filled with vacant positions, even before the start of the summer tourism season and seasonal staff are needed.

The number of job openings has increased this year compared to this time last year, as employers across the territory look for for skilled workers, said Carol Corbet of Employment Central job search centre in Whitehorse.

Corbet, the centre's manager, said many positions are going up and have not been filled, partly because many workers took advantage of the job market last summer.

"So they might start with this particular employer and then realize, 'Oh, I can make 15 cents an hour more down the road.' So, there was a lot of job hopping last summer," Corbet told CBC News on Friday.

"So that makes it really tough for employers because, of course, they get the individual trained up for the position and then, poof, they're gone."

One employer looking for workers is the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre in Whitehorse, which has three jobs posted. Executive director Michelle Kolla said she has noticed the labour shortage.

"We have to be creative in how we get people to come to work for us, and maybe really have them come in and see what we offer," Kolla said.

"It's not just about a job; it's like part of the family when you work here at the friendship centre."

Corbet warned that jobs boards will have even more postings when the summer tourism season starts in many communities around May.

Many workers come from outside the Yukon to work every summer, but she said even that won't fully solve the current labour shortage.

"Hopefully that's going to be of some help. But of course, it's not going to fill the bill, I don't think, with all the positions that are going to be available," she said.

"And, of course, now we've got … [Sherwood Copper Corp.'s] Minto Mine, which is fully operational, and that's taking lots of workers too."

Corbet said Employment Central and other services can help spread the word about job openings.

Employers seeking workers, meanwhile, should pay attention to the going wage rates in the marketplace, she added.