Country still has over 600,000 job vacancies, says StatCan, while average weekly earnings rise slightly
Canada had a total of 637,400 job vacancies in December 2023, the third consecutive month of little change, according to Statistics Canada.
Job vacancies were down by 209,200 (-24.7%) compared with December 2022, and down by 365,900 (-36.5%) from the record high of 1,003,200 reached in May 2022.
Among sectors, health care and social assistance (125,900) had the highest number of job vacancies that month, far ahead of accommodation and food services (82,700) which had the second highest number.
Across Canada, job vacancy numbers were highest in Ontario (224,200), Quebec (138,100) and British Columbia (107,100).
Source: StatCan
Data for all sectors and provinces and territories are available at this StatCan web page.
In January, Canada's unemployment rate dipped for first time since 2022, said StatsCan.
The labour market in Canada is expected to continue cooling in 2024 but will hold up better compared to previously observed cyclical downturns, according to TD Economics.
Average weekly earnings in Canada
Weekly earnings in Canada stood at $1,212 in December 2023, according to StatCan.
That was down 1.1% from November, but up 3.8% from December 2022.
Among industries, the following had the highest weekly earnings for that period:
- Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction: $2,369.86
- Utilities: $2,069.27
- Professional, scientific and technical services: $1,752.28
- Management of companies and enterprises: $1,723.77
Source: StatCan
Meanwhile, these were the Canadian sectors that had the lowest weekly earning in December 2023:
- Accommodation and food services: $497.95
- Retail trade: $738.71
- Arts, entertainment and recreation: $757.12
- Other services (excluding public administration): $1,040.33
- Health care and social assistance: $1,081.52
Among Canadian provinces and territories, meanwhile, Nunavut ($1,638.89), Northwest Territories ($1,618.89) and Yukon ($1,399.89) had the highest weekly earnings that month. Prince Edward Island ($$1,022.91), Nova Scotia ($1,084.13) and Manitoba ($1,115.59) had the lowest weekly earnings.
Data for all sectors and provinces and territories are available at this StatCan web page.
Toronto has the smallest median employment income among the 15 largest metropolitan states in Canada and the United States, according to a previous report from the Fraser Institute.
