High job vacancies reported in Canada’s private sector
Employers in Canada’s private sector have reported an all-time high in job vacancies this past few months. A Help Wanted Report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said that around 433,000 jobs in private-sector businesses were not filled in the last quarter. This reported number of unfilled jobs is 1,500 higher than the last quarter. It was also 15,000 more than was reported this time last year.
The past five quarters have been faced with record-setting high numbers of job vacancies. Small firms have reported the most struggles with filling job vacancies, as businesses with less than 5 employees have reported up to 5.4 per cent vacancy rates.
The province with the highest reported vacancy rate was Quebec, with a rate of 4 per cent, which remained the same between this quarter and the last. Meanwhile, the vacancy in British Columbia stayed at 3.8 per cent. Vacancy rates in Ontario also went unchanged at 3.2 per cent which is also the national average.
Newfoundland, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta all saw 0.1 to 0.2 per cent increases in their vacancy rates:
- Alberta increased to 2.2%
- Newfoundland increased to 2.3%
- Saskatchewan increased to 2.3%
- Manitoba increased to 2.6%
Canada-Wide Vacancy Rates
The industries with the highest vacancy rates in Canada include the personal service industry, with a rate of 4.9 per cent reported from July to October of this year. The industry includes occupations like hairstylists, fitness trainers, tour guides, etc. Next, the construction industry reported the second-lowest vacancy rates at 4.7 per cent. They were followed by hospitality jobs with 4.0 per cent, the agricultural sector at 3.7 per cent, and the information sector at 2.4 per cent. The lowest vacancy rate was noted in the natural resource sector, with a rate of 1.8 per cent.
Some industries did report their vacancy rates lowering. This included the transportation industry which dropped to 3.4 per cent and manufacturing at 2.8 per cent. Wholesale fell to 2.6 per cent and retail jobs had to 2.5 per cent vacancy rates.
Low vacancy rates across industries mean that there are many options for employment in these sectors. Those with job experience or training in any of these occupations can rest assured that there are employment opportunities in these industries.
