As of the second quarter of 2022, Statistics Canada has published its job vacancy and wage survey report. Overall, the number of vacancies increased by 4.7% from the first quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2021, and by 42.3% from the third quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022.
An all-time high of 5.7% of open positions exists in Canada. An estimate of vacancies is based on the number of vacancies that corresponds to the total amount of labor demand.
As a result of rising labor demand, the number of job openings has exceeded the growth in payroll employment since the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a record-high number of vacancies.
Some industries’ wage growth is not keeping pace with the consumer price index
During the second quarter of 2021, the average hourly wage paid across all industries increased by 5.3%, according to the research. Right now, it’s $24.05. While this is an increase, the average hourly wage for all current employees increased only by 4.1%. CPI growth, an important inflation indicator, does not compare with this increase. The CPI increased 7.5% from 2021 to 2022.
Job opportunities in five industries were most likely to increase in pay. A rise of 11.3% was recorded in the professional, scientific, and technological industries, where hourly earnings averaged $37.05. Wholesalers earn an average of $26.10 per hour.
A retail trade job’s salary increased by only 5.7% over the previous year, less than the CPI’s growth of 3.6%. The CPI for the second quarter of 2022 is about the same or lower than most retail trade jobs’ hourly wages.
Six provinces have an increase in vacancies
A number of positions became available in six provinces between the first and second quarters of 2022. A 6.6% increase in job openings was recorded in Ontario, with 379,700 total openings. Nova Scotia also experienced a 6% increase. Increasing rates were recorded in British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta, and Quebec between 5.6% and 2.4%.
Among the provinces, only New Brunswick saw a decrease in job openings, with 15,200 positions available, a 6.1% reduction. There were no noteworthy developments recorded in the other territories or provinces.
Unemployed workers were represented by 1.1 open positions in Canada on average. In the first quarter of last year, there were 2.3 unemployed workers per job, and in the first quarter of this year, there were 1.3 people per job. Québec and BC report only 0.8 job openings for every one reported elsewhere. A 3.3-to-1 ratio of unemployed individuals to open positions is found in Newfoundland and Labrador.
By industry, the number of vacancies
Social assistance and Healthcare
In the first and second quarters of this year, the number of open healthcare jobs and social support jobs decreased by nearly 6% from 135,300 to 136,100. The shortfall in staffing caused some hospitals to temporarily close emergency rooms and reduce services. A vacancy rate of 6.7% in the healthcare industry is the highest in Manitoba.
Food Services and Accommodation
A significant increase of 12.7% in vacancies occurred in the lodging and food services industry in the second quarter, reaching 149,600, resulting in an overall unemployment rate of 10.9%. There are more open positions in the Kootenay region of British Columbia than anywhere else, and it is especially severe.
Scientific, technical services, and Professional
74,600 open positions were recorded in this sector, an increase of over 8% compared to the previous quarter and 79% compared to the first quarter of 2020. There were more than half of these positions located in or around Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, or other large metropolitan areas. Science and engineering jobs increased by 13.3%. The percentage of tech jobs in the natural and applied sciences increased this quarter by a significant amount to 9.6%.
How does it work?
Some companies have difficulty filling open positions due to the high vacancy rate and low unemployment rate. Out of 100 positions, there were only 44 employees in the second quarter. It is expected that there will be a labor shortage in Canada by 2030 since more than nine million Canadians are approaching the retirement age of 65 and the birth rate remains low at 1.4 children per woman.
