Canadian workers might want to hang onto that job extra tight—at least for the next few months. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows job vacancies plunged lower in December. Over recent months, employers have been looking to fill fewer roles against a backdrop of rising unemployment and unprecedented labor force growth. Consequently, the job vacancy rate has dipped to the lowest level since 2017, leaving workers with the worst job prospects in the past 7 years.
Canadian Job Vacancies Plunged 13% Lower
Canada saw a sharp reduction in the number of jobs available last month. The agency reported a 13.3% (-67.2k jobs) decline, with employers looking to fill just 439.6k jobs in December. This represents a 17.8% (-94.9k) decline from last year. Canadians haven’t seen fewer jobs available in more than six years.
Falling job vacancies means one of two things, depending on whether the economy is improving or eroding. In a hot job market fewer vacancies mean employers can’t fill the jobs fast enough, and wages need to rise to compete for labor. In a cooling economy with rising unemployment it means more competition for the existing jobs and wages may fall. That’s why it’s important to look at the number of payrolls or jobs filled to determine what’s happening.
Unfortunately, payroll data confirms a negative trend. The number of payroll employees fell 0.6% (-111.6k) to 17.4 million people. Over the past year it managed to make a minor climb of 0.8% but that is a quarter of the rate of population growth.
Canadians Face The Worst Job Prospects In 7 Years
The Canadian job vacancy rate, which shows the number of jobs as a share of total labor. No data available from March 2020 to September 2020.
Source: Statistics Canada; Better Dwelling.
Available jobs and a rapidly expanding workforce means a job vacancy rate is plunging. The job vacancy rate fell 0.3 points to just 2.5% in December. This represents a 0.5 point decline from last year, and the lowest rate since February 2017. That’s nearly a third of the most recent unemployment rate. Even during the pandemic, a person’s prospect of finding a job was much higher in Canada.
Canada’s job market has shifted dramatically over just a couple of years. A little over two years ago, the share of jobs was higher than the unemployment rate, creating upward pressure on wages as employers competed for labor. Now those seeking work are facing a labor market where there’s just 1 job available for every 3 workers looking. Anyone else feel that wind on their head?
