Last Updated On 28 September 2023, 10:27 AM EDT (Toronto Time)
The new job vacancy data for Canada shows a decrease in available jobs by 43,100 (or 5.8%) to 701,300 in July, continuing a declining trend that began in June 2022.
In July 2023, there were 273,700 fewer job openings than there were a year earlier, registering a decline of 28.1%, as per the new Statistics Canada report released today, September 28, 2023.
The total number of job openings in July 2023 was the lowest at 673,400 since May 2021.
In July, Ontario (-123,900; -33.8%) saw the biggest year-over-year decline, followed by British Columbia (-38,400; -26.0%) and Quebec (-65,800; -26.6%).
On a monthly basis, the number of job vacancies also fell in Ontario by 27,700 (-10.2%) to 242,600 in July, following some variation in May and June.
Jump To
The number of open positions as a percentage of total labour demand (the total of filled and unfilled positions) is known as the job vacancy rate.
It dropped to 3.9% in July, the lowest level since February 2021.
The job vacancy rate decreased by 1.6 percentage points on an annual basis as a result of increases in payroll employment (+446,600; +2.7%) and decreases in vacancies (-273,700; -28.1%).
1.7 unemployed people were available for every open job vacancy in Canada in July 2023, an increase from 1.5 in June and 1.2 at the beginning of the year.
Since there was little change in the number of jobless people in July, the decline in job vacancies (-43,100; -5.8%) was primarily responsible for the increase in the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio.
The job vacancy rate in accommodation and food services reaches its lowest level since January 2020.
Furthermore, the retail trade also records the lowest number of vacancies since January 2021.
The number of unfilled retail positions decreased by 10,800 (-12.8%) to 73,100 in July 2023, marking the lowest level since January 2021 (68,000) and the third consecutive monthly decline since March 2023.
In July, there were 139,200 open jobs in the health and social support sectors, which represented roughly 1 in 5 (19.9%) of all job openings across all industries. This represents a little change from the previous month.
Highest Job Vacancy Sectors in Canada
| Sector/Industry | Job Vacancies | Job Vacancy Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 139,200 | 5.7% |
| Retail trade | 73,100 | 3.5% |
| Manufacturing | 54,300 | 3.3% |
| Educational services | 19,500 | 1.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 79,500 | 5.7% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 41,400 | 3.3% |
| Construction | 61,800 | 5.0% |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 43,200 | 4.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 21,300 | 2.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 37,900 | 4.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 28,500 | 3.3% |
| Other services (excluding public administration) | 32,000 | 5.4% |
| Public administration{4} | 15,800 | 2.8% |
| Information and cultural industries | 9,500 | 2.5% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 11,600 | 3.6% |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 9,700 | 3.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 10,100 | 4.1% |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 7,600 | 3.5% |
| Utilities | 3,100 | 2.2% |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 2,200 | 1.7% |
Province-Wise Job Vacancies
| Provinces and territories | July 2023 Job Vacancies | July 2023 Job Vacancy rate |
| Ontario | 242,600 | 3.5% |
| Quebec | 181,500 | 4.5% |
| British Columbia | 109,200 | 4.3% |
| Alberta | 80,100 | 3.8% |
| Manitoba | 23,700 | 3.8% |
| Saskatchewan | 22,200 | 4.3% |
| Nova Scotia | 17,100 | 3.9% |
| New Brunswick | 11,500 | 3.2% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,400 | 3.6% |
| Prince Edward Island | 2,900 | 3.9% |
Average Weekly Earnings in Canada Continues To Increase
Average weekly earnings increased by 0.8% (to $1,215) in July compared to a 0.4% monthly increase in May and June.
The two industries with the biggest gains in July were construction (+1.6% to $1,509) and public administration (+1.9% to $1,553).
July had a 4.3% year-over-year increase in average weekly earnings, which had increased by 3.7% in June.
Generally speaking, an increase in the average weekly pay can be attributed to a variety of variables, such as shifts in hours worked, job composition, and wage levels.
| Provinces and territories | July 2023 | June 2023 | July 2022 | June to July 2023 % change | July 2022 to July 2023 %change |
| Nunavut | 1600.99 | 1635.57 | 1522.96 | -2.1 | 5.1 |
| Northwest Territories | 1593.03 | 1601.51 | 1542.77 | -0.5 | 3.3 |
| Yukon | 1382.73 | 1361.82 | 1340.85 | 1.5 | 3.1 |
| Alberta | 1293.23 | 1281.12 | 1244.79 | 0.9 | 3.9 |
| Ontario | 1242.82 | 1228.02 | 1194.35 | 1.2 | 4.1 |
| British Columbia | 1230.44 | 1205.24 | 1162.26 | 2.1 | 5.9 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1204.53 | 1205.60 | 1148.34 | -0.1 | 4.9 |
| Saskatchewan | 1173.69 | 1164.86 | 1138.92 | 0.8 | 3.1 |
| Quebec | 1163.31 | 1157.72 | 1119.40 | 0.5 | 3.9 |
| Manitoba | 1104.05 | 1091.90 | 1056.31 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| New Brunswick | 1102.90 | 1091.82 | 1070.83 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Nova Scotia | 1068.36 | 1070.35 | 1027.25 | -0.2 | 4.0 |
| Prince Edward Island | 1019.61 | 999.88 | 979.69 | 2.0 | 4.1 |
How high is the unemployment rate in Canada?
Canada has the unemployment rate of 5.5% as of August 2023 after increasing by 0.5 percentage points from April to July.
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
