Private sector job vacancies in Canada

The private sector job vacancy rate in Canada edged down to 2.7% in 2024 Q4, down by 0.9 percentage points on a yearly basis.

The vacancy rate remained stable across all provinces, on a quarterly basis
On a yearly basis, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Ontario saw the most notable changes, with Manitoba recording a decline of 1.3 percentage points and the other three provinces decreasing by 1.1 percentage points. With the exception of New Brunswick (‑0.3 percentage points), all provinces experienced a slight quarterly decrease of 0.1 percentage points.

Job vacancy rates declined across most sectors
On a yearly basis, construction and hospitality saw the most significant declines (-1.5), followed by personal services (-1.3) and agriculture (-1.3). Nearly all sectors experienced a quarterly decline in job vacancy rates, with the largest decreases observed in construction (-0.3), personal services (-0.2), agriculture (-0.2), hospitality (-0.2), and retail (-0.2).

Smaller businesses lead in vacancy rate declines
On both a quarterly and yearly basis, businesses with fewer than 50 employees have shown the largest decreases in vacancy rates. However, their rates remain higher compared to larger businesses.