But wages show notable growth amid downward trend in vacancies: StatCan
Job vacancies in Canada fell for the ninth consecutive quarter, though the rate of decline slowed significantly, according to new government data.
Vacancies dropped by 31,900 (-5.5%) in Q3 2024, reaching 546,100 open positions—an improvement over the sharper decline seen in Q2 (-63,200; -9.9%), says Statistics Canada.
The decline in Q3 affected both permanent (-27,800; -5.9%) and temporary (-4,100; -4.0%) positions, as well as full-time (-19,300; -4.5%) and part-time roles (-12,600; -8.5%).
While job vacancies fell, total labour demand—the sum of filled and vacant positions—remained relatively unchanged for the fourth straight quarter. However, on a year-over-year basis, labour demand dipped slightly (-0.1%), contrasting with the steady gains seen in 2023 (+0.8%) and 2022 (+6.3%).
The national job vacancy rate dropped marginally to 3.1% in Q3, marking a continued decline from the record 5.6% seen in mid-2022, says Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio, which measures the number of unemployed individuals per job opening, climbed to 2.6 in Q3, up from 2.4 in the previous quarter. This reflects a combination of falling vacancies and a rise in unemployed persons (+35.5% year-over-year), as reported by the Labour Force Survey.
Vacancy declines were widespread, with decreases in 20 of 69 economic regions. Job vacancies decreased in Ontario (-16,500 to 184,400), Quebec (-5,900 to 121,300), Saskatchewan (-1,900 to 17,900), Manitoba (-1,100 to 21,200), Nova Scotia (-1,000 to 14,600), Newfoundland and Labrador (-500 to 5,300), the Northwest Territories (-300 to 1,100), and Yukon (-200 to 800). Job vacancies held steady in the other provinces and in Nunavut.
Ontario saw the most significant drop, particularly in:
Positions requiring a high school diploma or less faced the largest declines (-28.7% year-over-year), says Statistics Canada, particularly in sales and service roles.
In the third quarter, job vacancies decreased by 6,900 (-6.6%) to 98,400 in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations. This was the ninth consecutive quarterly decline since the record high (195,000) reached in the second quarter of 2022.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of vacant positions in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations was down by 43,100 (-28.5%) in the third quarter of 2024, says the report. The largest decreases were recorded for transport truck drivers (-7,000 to 13,200), construction trades helpers and labourers (-6,000 to 12,300), carpenters (-4,400 to 4,600), and automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (-3,300 to 6,300) (not seasonally adjusted).
Job vacancies in health occupations fell by 8,200 (-9.5%) to 78,600 in the third quarter, following a decrease of 5,400 (-5.8%) in the second quarter. This was the second consecutive quarterly decline after six consecutive quarters of little change since the peak in the third quarter of 2022, when job vacancies in health occupations reached 97,400, says Statistics Canada.
Year over year, vacancies in health occupations were down by 13,900 (-14.9%) in the third quarter of 2024. Among health occupations, registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (-6,400 to 23,900), nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (-3,500 to 17,200), and licensed practical nurses (-2,500 to 10,600) accounted for the largest year-over-year decreases.
These three occupational groupings together accounted for nearly two-thirds (64.8%) of the total vacancies in health occupations (not seasonally adjusted).
Amid the downward trend in vacancies, offered wages showed notable growth. The average offered hourly wage rose 7.6% year-over-year to $27.55 in Q3, accelerating from Q2’s 6.8% growth.
This increase reflects a shift in vacancies toward higher-paying occupations.
When adjusted for occupational composition, wage growth stood at 5.0%—still outpacing broader average hourly earnings (+5.0%) reported by the Labour Force Survey.
