Canada's payroll jobs steady with 13,500 gain, but vacancies drop 25% in health care, construction
Canada’s job market may be hitting a holding pattern, with payroll jobs barely budging in August even as average paychecks kept climbing.
August saw payroll employment tick up by just 13,500 positions, following a more robust July, while job vacancies took a steep year-over-year dive, according to the latest Statistics Canada (StatsCan) Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours.
Average weekly earnings for Canadian workers continued their upward climb, StatsCan reports, reaching $1,270.46 — a 4.6 per cent increase from last August. The steady rise in wages follows a 4.3 per cent gain recorded in July.
StatsCan noted that “growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.”
Nationwide, the number of employees getting a paycheck — known as “payroll employment” — increased by 176,700 (one per cent) over the past year. But with a monthly bump of only 13,500 in August, far short of the 39,500 boost seen in July, the data suggest a cooler pace in hiring.
Job vacancies, meanwhile, remained flat at 518,300 in August after three straight months of declines, but the year-over-year numbers tell a different story.
Compared with last August, vacancies dropped by 176,300, or 25.4 per cent, pointing to a slowdown in demand for new hires in some areas. “Job vacancies were little changed in August,” the report states, “after three consecutive months of declines.”
August’s job growth was concentrated in health care and social assistance, public administration, and wholesale trade, the report shows.
The health care sector led the way, adding 12,000 jobs (a 0.5 per cent rise), closely matching July’s gains.
According to the report, “Payroll employment in the sector was up 94,300, or 4.1 per cent in August” compared to a year ago, with the biggest boosts in general medical and surgical hospitals (+4,400) and nursing care facilities (+2,200), which together accounted for over half of the month’s increase.
Public administration also saw growth, marking its third straight monthly increase with an addition of 5,400 payroll positions in August. Compared to last year, public administration was up by 36,100 jobs, with nearly all gains in local, municipal, and regional roles in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia.
On the downside, six sectors posted job losses. The biggest declines were seen in arts, entertainment, and recreation (-2,400); administrative support, waste management, and remediation services (-2,400); and construction (-1,700).
Employment in construction has been sliding since May, down 4,400 positions over the last three months, particularly in heavy and civil engineering as well as specialty trades.
StatsCan noted that “the overall payroll employment decline in construction from May to August was concentrated in heavy and civil engineering.”
The health care sector held onto the highest job vacancy rate, though available positions shrank 10 per cent in August. Vacancies dropped by 12,700 to 114,700, and the vacancy rate in health care slipped to 4.6 per cent from July, remaining the highest among all 20 sectors for the fifth month straight.
Construction, which had maintained a steady number of vacancies from March through July, saw job openings fall 16.5 per cent in August. The sector’s vacancy rate dropped to 3.2 per cent, the lowest observed since 2019. By contrast, wholesale trade added 2,300 vacancies, reversing a previous monthly drop of 2,500 positions.
Regionally, vacancies fell in Ontario and New Brunswick, while Newfoundland and Labrador saw a slight increase. British Columbia led in job vacancy rate at 3.6 per cent, while New Brunswick had the lowest at 2.3 per cent.
