Payroll employment in Canada held steady in April, down by just 6,200 positions, as national job vacancies dropped to their lowest level in nearly seven years, according to Statistics Canada.
Average weekly earnings climbed to $1,297.44 in April, a 4.4 per cent increase year over year and up 0.8 per cent from March. Weekly hours worked remained unchanged at 33.5 hours.
Job vacancies fell by 16,800 positions to 501,300 in April, extending a year-long downward trend. The vacancy rate declined to 2.8 per cent — the lowest since October 2017 — while the number of unemployed persons per job rose to 3.1, up from 2.9 in March and 2.3 a year earlier.
Nine out of 20 sectors posted payroll employment losses. Manufacturing led the decline with a drop of 7,300 jobs, followed by accommodation and food services (-5,800) and retail trade (-5,000). In manufacturing, cuts were concentrated in transportation equipment, plastics and rubber products, and machinery. Accommodation and food services has now lost 15,000 jobs since January.
Retail trade employment has fallen for three straight months, with losses driven by building material, clothing, and general merchandise stores. The sector was down 33,400 jobs year over year.
Public sector jobs grow while private sectors contract
Meanwhile, health care and social assistance added 10,800 jobs, the largest gain of any sector, followed by public administration (+6,200) and educational services (+5,200). Growth in public administration was driven by municipalities, though federal employment continued to lag.
In health care, employment growth was strongest in hospitals, outpatient care centres, and nursing facilities — part of a trend that has continued since mid-2022.
Vacancies fall across provinces and industries
Vacancy levels dropped in 11 sectors on a year-over-year basis, with health care and social assistance (-32,700), accommodation and food services (-14,700), and construction (-6,600) seeing the biggest declines. Monthly losses were led by finance and insurance (-4,000) and wholesale trade (-2,700).
Regionally, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador recorded the largest month-to-month declines in vacancies. Newfoundland and Labrador posted the lowest vacancy rate nationally at 2.1 per cent.
By contrast, Manitoba and Saskatchewan had the highest vacancy rates in April at 3.3 per cent, with health care and social assistance (4.1 per cent) and accommodation and food services (4.0 per cent) among the highest by industry.
