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February 23, 2023JOB VACANCIES, DECEMBER 2022 Statistics Canada released today monthly job vacancy results for December 2022. The data are not adjusted for seasonal patterns.
Nova Scotia had 16,905 job vacancies in December 2022 with a vacancy rate of 3.8%.
Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 754,310 positions in December with a vacancy rate of 4.2%.
The highest vacancy rate was reported in Quebec while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador. Compared with December 2021, vacancy rates were up in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Vacancy rates were down for all other provinces.
Although there are seasonal variations, Nova Scotia's job vacancy rates trended up for most of 2021 and 2022.
The number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia were 16,905 in December 2022. In December 2021, there were 17,320 job vacancies.
Comparing December 2022 against December 2021, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia was down 2.4%. National job vacancies declined 14.1% over the same period with decreases in six provinces. British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest declines while Manitoba reported the largest increase in job vacancies.
Nationally, the accommodation and food services sector had the highest job vacancy rate (6.6%) and the second highest number of job vacancies at 89,850. This industry has had the highest vacancy rate among all industries for over a year.
After accommodation and food services, the next highest job vacancy rates in Canada were reported in health care/social assistance, arts/entertainment/recreation, personal/repair services, and construction. The lowest vacancy rates were in education, management of companies, and public administration.
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 148,900 in December. Both the number of vacancies and the job vacancy rate (6.2%) increased compared to December 2021.
Notes: 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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