Sales and service vacancies hit new lows, while wages grow 7.6 percent in third quarter 2024
Statistics Canada revealed that the country’s job vacancies fell by 31,900, or 5.5 percent, to 546,100 in the third quarter of 2024, marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline.
While vacancies continued to drop, the decline was smaller than in the second quarter, which saw a reduction of 63,200 or 9.9 percent.
Vacancies fell for both permanent and temporary roles. Permanent positions dropped by 27,800, or 5.9 percent, while temporary roles fell by 4,100, or 4 percent.
Full-time job vacancies decreased by 19,300, or 4.5 percent, and part-time roles saw a steeper drop of 12,600, or 8.5 percent.
Despite declines in job vacancies, labour demand, which combines both filled and unfilled positions, remained largely unchanged for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Compared to the third quarter of 2023, total labour demand decreased slightly by 0.1 percent. This followed year-over-year increases of 0.8 percent in 2023 and 6.3 percent in 2022.
The job vacancy rate, which measures vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand, fell 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent in the third quarter. This continues a steady decline from its record high of 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio increased to 2.6 in the third quarter, up from 2.4 in the second quarter and 2 in the first quarter.
Compared to the third quarter of 2022, this ratio reflects a 43 percent drop in job vacancies alongside a 35.5 percent rise in unemployed persons, as reported in the Labour Force Survey.
Job vacancies in sales and service occupations declined for the eighth consecutive quarter, falling by 12,500, or 7.4 percent, to 155,300.
Despite the drop, sales and service roles accounted for the largest share of vacancies among all occupational groups, representing 28.4 percent of total unfilled positions.
Year-over-year, vacancies in sales and service occupations fell by 29.8 percent, or 71,400. The most significant declines occurred among food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support roles, where vacancies fell by 17,300 to 30,100.
Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers saw a decline of 10,100, reducing vacancies to 20,000. Cooks experienced a drop of 6,000, bringing their vacancies to 13,800, while light-duty cleaners saw a reduction of 5,100, leaving 9,000 vacancies.
Vacancies in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations dropped by 6,900, or 6.6 percent, to 98,400 in the third quarter. This marks the ninth straight quarterly decline since hitting a peak of 195,000 in the second quarter of 2022.
Compared to the third quarter of 2023, vacancies in this sector fell by 28.5 percent, or 43,100. Transport truck drivers experienced a decline of 7,000 to 13,200 vacancies.
Construction trades helpers and labourers saw a drop of 6,000 to 12,300, while carpenters fell by 4,400 to 4,600. Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and repairers saw a reduction of 3,300, leaving 6,300 vacancies.
Health occupations also continued to decline. Vacancies fell by 8,200, or 9.5 percent, to 78,600, following a drop of 5.8 percent in the second quarter.
This is the second consecutive quarterly decrease after six quarters of stability since the 2022 peak of 97,400.
Year-over-year, vacancies in health occupations decreased by 14.9 percent, or 13,900. Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses accounted for the largest drop, with vacancies declining by 6,400 to 23,900.
Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates saw a reduction of 3,500, leaving 17,200 vacancies, while licensed practical nurses declined by 2,500 to 10,600. These three categories made up nearly 65 percent of total vacancies in health occupations.
The average offered hourly wage rose 7.6 percent year-over-year to $27.55 in the third quarter. This was faster than the 6.8 percent growth in the second quarter and 7.3 percent growth in the first quarter.
By comparison, average hourly wages for all employees grew by 5 percent during the same period, according to Labour Force Survey data.
The faster wage growth partly reflects a shift in vacancies toward occupations with higher wages. Adjusting for occupational composition, offered wages grew by 5 percent, up from 4.2 percent in the second quarter.
Job vacancies fell in eight provinces and two territories in the third quarter. Ontario recorded the largest decline, dropping by 16,500 to 184,400.
Quebec followed with a decrease of 5,900 to 121,300. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon also reported declines.
At the regional level, 20 of 69 economic regions saw declines in job vacancies. The largest drops occurred in Ontario’s Toronto region, which fell by 5,900 to 91,500.
Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie saw a decline of 3,800 to 16,300, while Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula dropped by 2,900 to 16,100.
Three regions in Quebec recorded increases: Laval rose by 700 to 4,100; Côte-Nord and Nord-du-Québec increased by 600 to 3,000; and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine added 300, bringing vacancies to 1,100.
Vacancies fell across all educational levels. Positions requiring a high school diploma or less experienced the largest decline, dropping by 118,900, or 28.7 percent.
Sales and service occupations accounted for most of this reduction, with a decrease of 68,800, or 33 percent.
