StatCan has revealed the latest trends
Canada’s job vacancies fell to their lowest level in two years with a drop to 759,000 in May, a far cry from the peak of 1 million during the same month in 2022, according to the national statistics agency.
In its latest report, Statistics Canada said that higher interest rates and surging population growth might be significantly influencing labour market dynamics. Following five months of little change, the number of unemployed persons increased by 34,800 in May, the agency said.
Six sectors saw declines in job vacancies in May, led by health care and social assistance (down by 12,500) and accommodation and food services (down by 12,300).
At the same time, vacancies went up in three sectors, led by manufacturing (up by 3,700) and finance and insurance (up by 3,000).
“On a year-over-year basis, the health care and social assistance sector remained among the few sectors that did not record a significant decline in job vacancies,” StatCan said.
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The Canadian labour market’s robust April performance could be a prelude to the Bank of Canada reconsidering its current policy rate strategy, according to market observers.https://t.co/ISRzhCNu1a#mortgagenews #marketupdates #interestrates #economy
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 8, 2023
“In May, there were 1.4 unemployed persons for each job vacancy, little changed from the previous month, but up from the low of 1.0 recorded in June and July 2022,” StatCan added.
By province, Quebec saw the largest drop in job vacancies with a 10,800 monthly decline to 193,900 in May, followed by Manitoba’s decrease of 3,700 to 24,000 and Saskatchewan’s drop of 2,400 to 22,000.
“In May, Quebec (4.8%) and British Columbia (4.7%) continued to have the highest job vacancy rates of any province, while Newfoundland and Labrador (3.5%) had the lowest,” StatCan said.
