According to Statistics Canada, there were 896,100 job openings in Canada at the beginning of December 2021, a 2.5% (+21,400) increase over November.
Canada’s healthcare and social assistance, as well as accommodation and food services sectors, have led the increase, while the number of vacancies in the construction and manufacturing sectors has diminished.
In December 2021, Canadian employers were seeking to fill an average of 5.2 vacancies for every 100 positions. This rise in vacancies has occurred in the context of falling unemployment which was 5.4% in December.
Accommodation and food services had 142,300 vacancies in December, more than any other sector and up 9.4% (+12,300) from November. For the eighth consecutive month, the job vacancy rate was 10.9%, the highest rate across all sectors.
The number of job openings in five provinces increased in December compared with November (not seasonally adjusted). Accordingly, the largest increases were in Saskatchewan (+3,500; +19.4%), New Brunswick (+2,300; +19.4%) and British Columbia (+20,300; +15.1%).
The number of job vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed persons in both Quebec (242,600) and British Columbia (154,700).