Statistics Canada released the results of the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey report for this year’s second quarter. In general, vacancies witnessed an increase of 4.7% from the first quarter and 42.3% higher than in the second quarter of 2021.
There are approximately one million job vacancies in the country across all sectors, or an overall rate of 5.7%, which is an all-time high. Vacancies are calculated as the number of vacant positions as they are consistent with total labour demand.
Starting in the first quarter of 2020, the development in labour demand has been surpassing growth in payroll employment, leading to the existing record-high number of job vacancies.
Wage growth in a few sectors does not correspond to the consumer price index
The report found that the average hourly wage offered across every sector has grown by 5.3% over 2021’s second quarter. At present, it stands at $24.05 per hour. This growth is different from all employees’ hourly average wages. These employees are currently employed.
These rises are not equal to the rise in the CPI (short for consumer price index) – a key measure of inflation. There was an increase in CPI by 7.5% in comparison with the same period last year.
Jobs in five sectors were probably reflecting an increase in wages. The technical, scientific, and professional sectors witnessed a massive increase, 11.3% to an average hourly wage of $37.05. Wholesale trade jobs, on the other hand, average $26.10 on an hourly basis.
On the contrary, retail trade job wages rose only 5.7%, which is lower than the CPI. Social assistance and healthcare rose only 3.6% over in 2021 to %25.85. On the whole, most job vacancies are reporting hourly wages that are on par with, or below, the CPI for the second quarter this year.
Vacancies are increasing in 6 provinces
Job vacancies increased in 6 provinces between the first and second quarters of 2022. The province of Ontario witnessed a huge increase, rising 6.6% to a total of 379,700 job vacancies. On the other hand, Nova Scotia experienced an increase of 6%. Other provinces like Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Manitoba saw rises between 5.6% and 2.4%.
New Brunswick is the only province that has shown a decrease, dropping 6.1% to 15,200 open positions. There was no prominent change in the remaining provinces and territories.
Vacancies per sector
Accommodation and food services
Job vacancies in the accommodation and food services sector grew a considerable 12.7% to 149,600 vacant jobs in the second quarter or a job vacancy rate of 10.9% on the whole. This is the highest job vacancy rate across each sector and is specifically pronounced in British Columbia’s Kootenay region.
Professional, scientific, and technical services
Jobs in the professional, scientific, and technical service sectors reached a high of 74,600 job vacancies, which is up almost 8%, over the last quarter. And it reached 79% higher compared to the first quarter of 2020: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and other surrounding areas comprised more than half of these vacancies.
Healthcare and social assistance
There was a slight change in the number of job vacancies in the healthcare and social assistance sector between the first and second quarters of 2022, nearly 6%. However, it is up around 29% from the second quarter of 2021. A shortage of workforce has signified that a few hospitals have had to decrease services, including emergency rooms, and temporarily close.
What does it indicate?
The high job vacancy rate merged with the low unemployment rate signifies some employers are facing problems filling vacant positions and experiencing a lengthy hiring process. There were only 44 people hired for every 100 vacancies through the second quarter. The labour shortage in Canada is likely to become acute into 2030 as more than 9 million people in Canada reach the retirement age of 65.
