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December 21, 2023JOB VACANCIES, OCTOBER 2023 Statistics Canada released today monthly job vacancy results for October 2023. The data in this article refers to seasonally adjusted data.
Monthly (October 2023 vs September 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 14,180 job vacancies in October 2023 with a vacancy rate of 3.3%. Nova Scotia job vacancies were at their lowest level since May 2021.
Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 633,370 positions in October with a vacancy rate of 3.6%. For Canada, job vacancies in October 2023 were at their lowest level since February 2021. The highest vacancy rate was reported in British Columbia while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Job vacancy rates were unchanged in Nova Scotia and Manitoba, as well as at the national level, compared to the previous month. Job vacancy rates declined in six provinces and increased in two provinces compared to September 2023.
When compared to September 2023, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 2.3% or 340 jobs. National job vacancies declined 0.4% or 2,700 jobs. Over the same period, vacancies decreased in seven provinces led by Prince Edward Island. British Columbia, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador reported higher vacancies compared to September.
Year-over-year (October 2023 vs October 2022)
When compared to October 2022, the job vacancy rate in Nova Scotia declined 1.3 percentage points. Nationally, job vacancy rate declined from 5.0% to 3.6%. Compared to one year earlier, the job vacancy rate declined in all provinces.
When compared to October 2022, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 31.4% or 6,500 vacancies. National job vacancies declined 28.5% or 252,385 vacant jobs. All provinces saw declines in the number of vacancies over the twelve month period. In percentage terms, Ontario and Nova Scotia 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, slowly declined to 18,600 in March 2023 and picked up to 20,515 in May 2023 before declining to 14,180 in October 2023.
Canada job vacancy rate and job vacancies by industry, October 2023
Nationally, the health care and social assistance (5.3%), accommodation and food services (5.2%) and personal repair services (5.1%) had the highest job vacancy rates.
The next highest job vacancy rates in Canada were reported in construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and admin, support and waste management. The lowest vacancy rates were in education. management of companies, utilities and manufacturing.
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 130,180 in October. The number of vacancies declined in health care and social assistance and the job vacancy rate decreased compared to October 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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