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August 31, 2023JOB VACANCIES, JUNE 2023 Statistics Canada released today monthly job vacancy results for June 2023. The data in this article refers to seasonally adjusted data.
Monthly (June 2023 vs May 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 17,700 job vacancies in June 2023 with a vacancy rate of 3.9%. Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 753,385 positions in June with a vacancy rate of 4.2%. Job vacancies in June 2023 were at their lowest level since May 2021. The highest vacancy rates were reported in Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Job vacancy rates decreased 0.3 percentage points in Nova Scotia and 0.1 percentage points nationally compared with May 2023. Job vacancy rates declined in four provinces, increased in three province and were unchanged in two provinces compared to the previous month.
When compared to May 2023, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 9.7% or 1,900 jobs - the largest decline among provinces. National job vacancies declined 1.2% or 8,895 jobs. Over the same period, vacancies decreased in five provinces and increased in five provinces led by Prince Edward Island.
Year-over-year (June 2023 vs June 2022)
When compared to June 2022, job vacancy rate in Nova Scotia declined 1.0 percentage points. Nationally, job vacancy rate declined from 5.6% to 4.2%. Job vacancy rates declined in seven provinces and remained unchanged in two provinces. Prince Edward Island was the only province reporting a year over year increase in job vacancy rate in June.
When compared to June 2022, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 19.9% or 4,405 vacancies. National job vacancies declined 23.5% or 230,790 vacant jobs. All provinces with the exception of Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan declined in the number of vacancies over the twelve month period. In percentage terms, British Columbia 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 18,560 in March 2023, picked up to 19,600 in May 2023 before declining to 17,700 in June 2023.
Canada job vacancy rate and job vacancies by industry, June 2023
Nationally, the accommodation and food services sector had the highest job vacancy rate (6.6%) and the second highest number of job vacancies at 92,485. 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 healthcare, social assistance, personal, repair services, and construction. The lowest vacancy rates were in education, finance and insurance, and utilities
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 147,135 in June. The number of vacancies increased in health care and social assistance while the job vacancy rate (6.1%) decreased compared to June 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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