Job vacancies exceed 1M again in June
The number of job vacancies across the country increased again in June, Statistics Canada reports.
Vacancies increased by 32,200, leaving employers with a combined 1,037,900 vacant positions. June was the third consecutive month in which combined vacancies exceeded one million.
Meanwhile, total labour demand, which is the sum of filled and vacant positions, reached a record high of nearly 17.7 million in June, 1.4% (+238,700) higher than in May and up 9.4% (+1,526,000) on a year-over-year basis.
The job vacancy rate, which measures the number of vacant positions as a proportion of all positions (vacant and filled), was 5.9% in June, matching the record-high rate reached in September 2021 and up from 4.9% in June 2021.
Job vacancies remained highest in the health care and social assistance sector, where employers were seeking to fill 149,700 vacant positions. Although that figure was little changed from the record high reached in March (147,500), it was nearly 41% (+43,400) higher than in June 2021.
At more than 89,000, construction’s total job vacancies were little changed from the month previous.
Nationally, the unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio reached a record low of 1.0 in June, meaning that there was one unemployed person for each vacant job. The ratio was 1.9 in June 2021.
The unemployment-to-job-vacancy ratio was below 1.0 in four provinces in June: Quebec (0.6), British Columbia (0.7), Saskatchewan (0.8), and Manitoba (0.9).
Meanwhile, the number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employers rose by 114,600 (+0.7%) in June. Gains were spread across six provinces, with Ontario (+43,000; +0.6%) and Quebec (+28,800; +0.7%) reporting the largest increases.
Payroll employment in construction rose by 7,800 (+0.7%) in June, partially offsetting a loss in May (-12,900; -1.1%). Gains were spread across six industries within the sector, with other specialty trade contractors (+2,000; +1.6%), non-residential building construction (+1,500; +1.3%), and foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors (+1,400; +1.1%) accounting for over half of the increase in June.
In June, four provinces reported payroll employment increases in construction, with Ontario (+4,600; +1.2%) showing the largest gains, followed by British Columbia (+1,600; +0.9%), Alberta (+1,200; +0.7%), and Manitoba (+1,100; +3.1%).