The job vacancy rate in Canada’s private sector in 2024 Q3 dropped to 2.7%, a level last seen in 2017.
The vacancy rate declined in every province
All provinces experienced a quarterly decrease of at least 0.3 percentage points, with New Brunswick and Quebec leading at 0.5. Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba saw the largest yearly changes, with Quebec dropping by 1.6 percentage points and the latter two by 1.5.
All sectors recorded a drop in vacancy rates
Each sector saw a quarterly decline, with the largest decreases in personal services (-0.8), construction (-0.6) and agriculture (-0.6). The personal services sector also experienced one of the most significant yearly declines (-2.2), followed by hospitality (-1.9) and agriculture (-1.8).
Smaller businesses experienced largest vacancy rate decline
On both a monthly and yearly basis, smaller businesses (fewer than 50 employees) tend to record the largest decreases in vacancy rates, although their rates remain higher than their counterparts. The overall number of vacancies was gradually returning to levels seen at the end of 2017 and in early 2018.