Job vacancies in Canada fell by 14,000 to 492,500 in the third quarter of 2025, marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline since peaking in mid-2022, according to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday.
The 2.8% decrease follows declines of 19,900 in the first quarter and 18,300 in the second quarter. Vacancies have now dropped by half since reaching 985,900 in the second quarter of 2022.
The decline affected full-time positions, which fell by 11,200, while part-time positions saw little change. Permanent positions dropped by 12,800, with temporary positions remaining relatively stable.
Long-term vacancies declining
Employers are finding it easier to fill available positions compared to previous quarters. Long-term vacancies—those with recruitment efforts ongoing for 90 days or more—accounted for 27.1% of all job vacancies in the third quarter, down from 31.6% during the same period in 2024.
The job vacancy rate held steady at 2.8% in the third quarter, representing the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand. Year over year, the rate was down 0.3 percentage points.
Total labour demand, which includes both filled and vacant positions, rose by 18,900 as payroll employment increased by 32,900, offsetting the decline in vacancies.
Education and trades sectors lead declines
Six broad occupational groups saw vacancy decreases in the third quarter. Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services led the decline with a drop of 3,200 positions, followed by trades, transport and equipment operators with 3,000 fewer vacancies, and health occupations with 2,200 fewer openings.
Year over year, health occupations recorded the steepest decline with 12,300 fewer vacancies, a 15.5% decrease. Trades and transport occupations fell by 11,800, while business, finance and administration dropped by 9,500.
Within the education and social services sector, the largest year-over-year decreases were for early childhood educators and assistants, down by 2,100 to 7,500 vacancies, social and community service workers, down by 1,700 to 9,100, and home support workers and caregivers, down by 900 to 4,700.
Wage growth slowing
Growth in average offered hourly wages for vacant positions has decelerated in 2025. The average offered hourly wage rose 3.3% year over year to $28.45 in the third quarter, compared with 4.5% growth in the second quarter and 6.1% growth in the first quarter.
Positions requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher offered an average hourly wage of $44.00, more than double the $21.85 offered for positions requiring a high school diploma or less.
Competition increasing for lower-skilled positions
Job vacancies requiring a high school diploma or less fell by 27,300, accounting for nearly half of the overall year-over-year decline. The ratio of unemployed persons with a high school diploma or less for every job vacancy requiring this education level increased from 2.3 to 2.7.
For positions requiring a trade certificate or diploma, vacancies fell by 8,300 while the number of unemployed people with this education level rose by 27,300. The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio for these positions increased from 1.3 to 1.9.
Vacancies for positions requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher fell by 9,500, while unemployment among degree holders rose by 32,400. The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio for this education level increased from 5.1 to 6.1.
Regional variations
Ontario recorded the largest provincial decline with 7,800 fewer vacancies, bringing the total to 171,800. Alberta saw vacancies drop by 3,800 to 59,500, while Saskatchewan declined by 900 to 15,800.
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island saw increases, with vacancies rising by 1,100 and 400 respectively.
The job vacancy rate declined in 35 of 69 economic regions year over year. Parklands and North, Manitoba saw the largest decrease at 2.2 percentage points to 3.9%, followed by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Northeast, British Columbia, each down 1.3 percentage points.
