As job Vacancies Remain High, Average Hourly Wages in Canada Start to Increase

As according Statistics Canada’s Q3 job vacancy report, the hiring climate is beneficial.

Statistics The third quarter of 2022 (Q3) job vacancy data from Canada illustrates a pattern that has been present all year. Employers in Canada are still struggling to find workers to fill over one million (959,600) positions available.

A position is deemed vacant if:

1. A position is deemed vacant if:
2. Within 30 days, work might begin; and
3. To fill the role, the employer is aggressively seeking candidates from outside the company.

Though the number of vacant positions is down 3.3% from the all-time high of 993,200 at the start of the year, the demand for labour remains high. In the third quarter of 2022, Canada had 1.1 people for every job opening.

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As Employers Seek to Attract More Workers, Average Wages Rise.

In response to a tight labour market and increased difficulty in hiring, many employers have sought to increase the offered wages of vacant positions.

In comparison to the same quarter last year, the average hourly wage offered increased by 7.5% to $24.20 per hour.

Some in-demand occupation categories saw wage increases that exceeded the national average, including:

• Middle management in trades, transportation, manufacturing, and utilities (+10.8% to $41.40 per hour);
• Assisting occupations in support of health services (+10.7% to $22.45 per hour);
• Assemblers in manufacturing (+10.4% to 20.05 per hour); and Processing and manufacturing machine operators and related production workers (+10.2% to $20.02 per hour).

During the same time period, the average hourly wage of all workers increased by 5.3%.

Which Industries in Canada have the Most job Openings?

Most notably, Canada has set a new high for job openings in the healthcare and social assistance sectors. In the third quarter of 2022, there were over 150,100 unfilled positions.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a persistent demand for more healthcare workers; Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has responded by removing barriers to permanent residence for physicians and investing millions in streamlining accreditation of foreign-educated healthcare professionals—as Canada seeks to address this historic labour shortage.

Other industries with a significant number of vacancies included:

• Accommodation and food services had 140,000 job vacancies;
• construction had an 81,000 job vacancy high; and
• professional scientific and technical services had 63,100 job vacancies.

Which Provinces Have the most Open Positions?

Though the number of open positions in Canada remains high, certain provinces saw more growth than others in Q3.

Job vacancies increased by 10.7% in Manitoba and 7.5% in Saskatchewan in the third quarter. The significant percentage increase from quarter to quarter demonstrates the need for labour once more.

Simultaneously, the number of job vacancies in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia all fell when compared to the second quarter of 2022. Despite this decrease, job openings remain plentiful across Canada:

• Yukon: 1,720 vacancies.
• Manitoba: 32,400 vacancies;
• Prince Edward Island: 4,090 vacancies*;
• Quebec: 232,400 vacancies;
• Saskatchewan: 24,300 vacancies;
• Ontario: 364,000 vacancies;
• Alberta: 103,380 vacancies*;
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 8,185 vacancies*;
• Northwest Territories: 1,820 vacancies*;
• Nova Scotia: 22,960 vacancies*;
• New Brunswick: 16,430 vacancies*;
• British Columbia: 155,400 vacancies;
• Nunavut: 405 vacancies*; and

*These are not seasonally adjusted figures.

At 6.2% and 5.8%, respectively, British Columbia and Quebec continued to have the highest job vacancy rates (the proportion of vacant positions to total labour demand (vacant and occupied positions).

A look to the Future

As Canada attempts to address labour shortages, immigration becomes a top priority for the government. The Express Entry system of programmes is expected to see a trend of targeted draws for in-demand professions in Canada by 2023.

Following these changes, statistics such as job openings within a sector can provide some insight into which occupations IRCC is likely to target for ITAs in 2023.

Furthermore, Canada is already taking steps to achieve maximum its domestic workforce, such as granting Open Work Permits (OPWs) to families of LMIA-based work permit holders and lifting the cap on the number of hours that international students can work until December 31st, 2023.