Job vacancies increased across Canada in the last three months of 2017 by nearly 25 per cent over the same period in 2016, new data from Statistics Canada reveal. The numbers show year-over-year job vacancies up in nine of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories in the fourth quarter of 2017, with the largest increases posted in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
Statistics Canada said nearly seven out of every 10 job vacancies were for full-time work and the average offered hourly wage for the unfilled jobs was $20.10.
Statistics Canada said there were 29,185 more job vacancies in Quebec than the fourth quarter of 2016, a year-over-year increase of 46 per cent — Canada’s largest. The vacancies in the majority French-speaking province were most notable in the manufacturing, accommodation and food services and finance and insurance industrial sectors.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, had 28,085 more job vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2017 than it did in final quarter of 2016, an increase of 17.3 per cent. “This was the sixth consecutive quarter with year-over-year increases in the number of job vacancies for this province,” Statistics Canada noted, adding that vacancies rose in 15 of 20 industrial sectors, including health care and social services
On Canada’s West Coast, British Columbia posted an increase of 15,485 job vacancies over the fourth quarter of 2017, a year-over-year quarterly increase of 21.2 per cent. The greatest increases in B.C. occurred in accommodation and food services and construction.
Alberta also posted a year-over-year increase of 8,890 job vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2017, a jump of 20.9 per cent over 2016, and the Atlantic province of Prince Edward Island, Canada’s least populous province, saw job vacancies rise by 285, or 27 per cent, over the final quarter of 2016.
JOB VACANCIES BY INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Job vacancies increased in eight of the 10 largest industrial sectors in the fourth quarter of 2017. Source: Statistics Canada
Employers in manufacturing witnessed an increase of 11,000 job vacancies, or 39 per cent, over the same quarter the year before. Statistics Canada said job vacancies were up in most subsectors of the manufacturing industry, led by food manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, and transportation equipment manufacturing.
Occupational categories
Sales and service occupations led Statistics Canada’s 10 occupational categories in terms of year-over-year job vacancies in the the fourth quarter of 2017 with 33,000 more than 2016. Quebec led Canada’s provinces and territories for job vacancies in this group, followed by Ontario and British Columbia.
The natural and applied sciences occupational category had 31,115 job vacancies in the final quarter of 2017, an increase of 6,755 over the last three months of 2016.
JOB VACANCIES BY OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY IN Q4 2016 AND 2017
