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February 24, 2022JOB VACANCIES, DECEMBER 2021 Statistics Canada released today monthly results from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) for December 2021.
Nova Scotia had 17,560 job vacancies in December 2021 with a vacancy rate of 4.0%. Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 896,140 positions (not seasonally adjusted) in December with a vacancy rate of 5.2%. The highest vacancy rates were reported in British Columbia and Quebec, while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador. Compared to December 2020, the job vacancy rate was higher in December 2021 for all provinces.
The number of vacancies declined 12.4% from the previous month in Nova Scotia. Vacancies were down in four provinces, with Manitoba reporting the largest decline in vacancies. Nationally, job vacancies increased 2.5% from November, following a record high level in September since comparable monthly data became available. Newfoundland and Labrador posted the highest month-over-month increase in job vacancies in December. The national increase in the total number of vacancies in December was led by the health care and social assistance and accommodation and food services sectors. Note that job vacancy data are not adjusted for seasonal patterns.
Nova Scotia job vacancies were 79.6% higher than they were one year ago. The number of vacancies were up in all provinces compared to December 2020, with the largest growth in vacancies being in Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island. Manitoba and New Brunswick reported the lowest increase in December 2021 compared with one year ago.
Nationally, accommodation and food services sector had the highest number of job vacancies at 142,320, with a job vacancy rate of 10.9% (not seasonally adjusted). The job vacancy rate in accommodation and food services was significantly higher than any other industry. Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services and other services had the next highest vacancy rate. The lowest vacancy rate was for educational services and public administration in December 2021. Job vacancies information were not available for utilities and management of companies sectors in December. Job vacancy rates were up for every industry at the national level compared to one year ago.
Notes: The job vacancy rate is a key indicator of labour market conditions. The job vacancy rate is the percentage of job positions (both filled and vacant) that are vacant. A higher job vacancy rate indicates a tighter labour market where it is more difficult for employers to find suitable candidates for the positions offered. A lower job vacancy rate signals labour market slack and potentially more job seekers competing for each vacant position.
Information on monthly job vacancies will continue in future Statistics Canada releases, and a more detailed analysis will be released with quarterly estimates from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0371-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by provinces and territories, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0372-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by industry sector, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
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