On December 20, 2021, Statistics Canada published a report regarding the job vacancies and labour shortage in the third quarter of the year.
According to the report, the number of job vacancies in the country reached an all-time high of 912,600 – more than 349,700 (+62.1%) higher than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019. In addition, the job vacancy rate was also a record high – 5.4%.
The increase in the number of job vacancies can signal a number of changes in labour market conditions especially in sectors such as health care, construction, accommodation and food, retail trade, and manufacturing since they were driving the growth in job vacancies.
In the third quarter of 2021, job vacancies were higher in all provinces than in the same period two years earlier. Saskatchewan (+82.7%; +9,200), Quebec (+73.1%; +100,500) and Ontario (+64.5%; +132,900) had the largest increases, while Nova Scotia (+35.2%; +4,700) had the smallest increases.
The only sectors where vacancies did not increase in the third quarter compared with the same period two years earlier were agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and real estate and rental and leasing.
The growth in job vacancies was driven by five sectors including health care, construction, accommodation and food, retail trade, and manufacturing. The number of job vacancies can indicate various changes in labour market conditions across different sectors and regions.