Job vacancies across Canada declined for the ninth consecutive quarter but did so more slowly than before, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The agency reported that the number of vacant positions fell by 31,900, or 5.5 per cent, to 546,100 in the third quarter of 2024.
“Job vacancies fell by 31,900 … marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline,” Statistics Canada said. The drop was smaller than in the second quarter, when vacancies decreased by 63,200, or 9.9 per cent, the agency said.
Permanent positions fell by 27,800, or 5.9 per cent, and temporary roles decreased by 4,100, or 4.0 per cent. Both full-time and part-time vacancies edged down as well. Total labour demand—filled and vacant jobs combined—changed little for the fourth straight quarter, down 0.1 per cent year-over-year, Statistics Canada said.
The job vacancy rate, which measures vacant positions as a share of total labour demand, dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 per cent, the ninth consecutive quarterly decline from the record high of 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, Statistics Canada said. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed Canadians per vacancy rose to 2.6, up from 2.4 in the second quarter and 2.0 in the first quarter.
The agency said that sales and service occupations saw the largest drop, down 7.4 per cent, and continued to represent the biggest share of all vacancies. Health occupations fell by 9.5 per cent, while trades, transport and equipment operators declined 6.6 per cent. Legislative and senior management occupations were the only group with an increase, rising 16.2 per cent, Statistics Canada said.
Regionally, vacancies declined in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, and remained stable elsewhere. The largest decreases were in Toronto and Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie, Statistics Canada said.
Positions requiring a high school diploma or less recorded the largest year-over-year decline, down by 28.7 per cent, with more than half the decrease linked to sales and service occupations, the agency said.
On wages, Statistics Canada reported that the average offered hourly wage rose 7.6 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter, up from 6.8 per cent in the second quarter. It attributed part of this increase to changes in the mix of vacancies, with fewer lower-wage positions available. Using a method that holds job composition steady, offered wages rose 5.0 per cent year-over-year, Statistics Canada said.
