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June 29, 2023JOB VACANCIES, APRIL 2023 Statistics Canada released today monthly job vacancy results for April 2023. The data in this article refers to seasonally adjusted data.
Monthly (April 2023 vs March 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 19,585 job vacancies in April 2023 with a vacancy rate of 4.4%. Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 790,925 positions in April with a vacancy rate of 4.4%. The highest vacancy rates were reported in Quebec and British Columbia while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Job vacancy rates increased 0.3 percentage points in Nova Scotia and declined 0.1 percentage points nationally compared with March 2023. Job vacancy rates declined in four provinces, increased in four provinces and were unchanged in two provinces compared to the previous month.
When compared to March 2023, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia increased 5.0% or 925 jobs - the second fastest increase among provinces. National job vacancies declined 1.7% or 13,835 jobs. Over the same period, vacancies increased in five provinces. In percentage terms, Saskatchewan reported the largest gain while Prince Edward Island reported the largest decline.
Year-over-year (April 2023 vs April 2022)
When compared to April 2022, job vacancy rate in Nova Scotia declined 0.6 percentage points. Nationally, job vacancy rate declined from 5.7% to 4.4%. Job vacancy rates declined in all provinces, with the exception of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
When compared to April 2022, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 9.0% or 1,935 vacancies. National job vacancies declined 20.4% or 202,700 vacant jobs. Over the same period, vacancies only increased in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. All other provinces declined in the number of vacancies. In percentage terms, Ontario declined the most.
Trend
Nationally, job vacancy rates peaked in March-May 2022 and have steadily declined since. Nova Scotia's job vacancy rates trended up for most of 2021 and early 2022 before declining through early 2023. The number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia peaked in May 2022 at 23,105 and slowly declined to 18,660 in March 2023 and picked up to 19,585 in April 2023.
Canada job vacancy rate and job vacancies by industry, April 2023
Nationally, the accommodation and food services sector had the highest job vacancy rate (7.9%) and the second highest number of job vacancies at 113,240. 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 and social assistance, personal and repair services, and admin, support and waste management. The lowest vacancy rates were in education, utilities and management of companies.
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 153,050 in April. Both the number of vacancies and the job vacancy rate (6.3%) increased compared to April 2022.
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 14-10-0432-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by provinces and territories, monthly, adjusted for seasonality, Table 14-10-0406-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by industry sector, monthly, adjusted for seasonality
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