Significant increases seen in 11 out of 20 sectors: StatCan
In March 2024, Canada witnessed a notable shift in its employment landscape, with significant developments in earnings and job vacancies.
According to the latest data from Ottawa’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls, and Hours, “payroll employment,” which indicates the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer, continued its upward trend, increasing by 51,400, marking a 0.3% rise from February.
This brought the total year-over-year increase to 232,100 jobs, or 1.3%.
Average weekly earnings saw a substantial year-over-year growth of 4.2%, reaching $1,235.68 in March 2024. Despite this yearly rise, month-over-month earnings saw little increase. The report noted this increase in earnings reflects various factors such as changes in wages, employment composition, and hours worked.
Monthly payroll employment gains were recorded in 11 out of 20 sectors, with health care and social assistance sectors leading, having recorded an increase of 11,700 (+0.5%). This sector has been on a consistent upward trajectory since September 2022, with a cumulative gain of 144,300 or 6.5%, said Statistics Canada.
Significant contributions came from general medical and surgical hospitals, nursing care facilities, individual and family services, and home health care services.
Educational services also saw a significant rise, an increase of 8,100 or 0.6% from the previous month. This sector’s yearly growth was driven by elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, CEGEPs, and universities. Manufacturing saw a gain of 7,300 in March, more than compensating for the losses in February. The construction sector saw a modest increase of 2,600, continuing the positive trend from February.
Decreases in job vacancies
The report also indicated an increase in the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio in March, with significant decreases in job vacancies and an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+59,900; +4.8%). In March 2024, job vacancies decreased by 40,600 positions, down 6.2% month over month, bringing the total to 610,700.
The report noted this is the largest month-over-month decline since September 2023. Year-over-year, job vacancies fell by 192,800 positions or 24%. The job vacancy rate decreased to 3.4%, the lowest since March 2020.
The construction sector faced the most significant reduction in vacancies, with a 19.1% drop, reaching the lowest number of vacancies since December 2020. Similarly, the finance and insurance sector saw a 23.1% decrease in job vacancies, reversing most gains from earlier in the year. Retail trade and accommodation and food services also recorded substantial decreases in job vacancies.
