Canada’s job vacancies continue to grow

The latest report on vacancies, payrolls, and earnings from Statistics Canada shows that employers in Canada actively seeking to fill about 1 million jobs in April, up 2.4% from the previous month and almost 45% from the previous year.

It has been determined by Statistics Canada that the increase in April is primarily due to seasonal factors, as more jobs become vacant during the spring and summer months.

A record high of 1.1 unemployed people filled each job vacancy in Alberta and Ontario in April, down from 1.2 in March and 2.4 a year earlier (non-seasonally adjusted). In Newfoundland and Labrador, there were almost four unemployed people for every vacant job.

In April, there were 89,900 job openings in the construction sector, up 5.4% from March and almost 45% from last April. Furthermore, there was an increase in job openings in professional, scientific, and technical services, transportation and warehousing, finance and insurance, entertainment, real estate, and recreation.

Finally, the number of vacant jobs in the health care and social assistance sector has decreased 15% 125,200 from its peak of 147,500 in March.

Employment on payroll continues to grow

According to Statistic Canada, employment in all provinces has either returned to or surpassed the levels seen prior to COVID-19.

Employment levels in the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and British Columbia increased the most from pre-pandemic levels. It is likely that the employment levels are due to the provinces’ easing of public health measures in April, which allowed all businesses to operate without restrictions.

A new record was set in April as employment in the educational services sector rose by 9,700 over the previous month, surpassing the pre-COVID 19 level of February 2020. The increase was spread across Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia, with elementary and secondary school services accounting for more than half of the monthly increase.

Since February, employment in the accommodation and food services sector has increased by more than 10%. The growth in the sector was seen in all provinces, especially Ontario and Quebec. In spite of this, employment in the sector remains below pre-pandemic levels, which is likely due to the fact that there were fewer active businesses in accommodation and food services reported in February 2022 than in the year prior.

Statistics Canada is supposed to release May 2022 data for job vacancy on July 28, 2022. Job Vacancy and Wage Survey results from the second quarter of 2022 will be released on September 20, 2022.