Launched: 2021-12-20
The variety of job vacancies in Canada reached an all-time excessive of 912,600 within the third quarter of 2021, as employers and employees continued to regulate to easing public well being restrictions and quickly evolving financial situations. Like different economies recovering from the labour market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, record-high job vacancies coincided with progress in general employment and falling unemployment.
Quarterly information from the Job Emptiness and Wage Survey (JVWS) make clear a few of the components behind the month-to-month job emptiness information launched beforehand, together with sectoral and regional variations in unmet labour demand, adjustments within the occupation and abilities profile of vacancies, and up to date developments within the wages supplied by employers.
Job vacancies enhance in all provinces and nearly all sectors
Throughout all sectors, the entire variety of job vacancies reached an all-time excessive of 912,600 within the third quarter of 2021, greater than 349,700 (+62.1%) increased than within the corresponding interval in 2019. The job emptiness rate—number of job vacancies as a proportion of labour demand (occupied positions and vacant positions)—was 5.4%, additionally a file excessive and 2.1 proportion factors increased than within the third quarter of 2019 (3.3%).
In contrast with the identical interval two years earlier, job vacancies had been up in all provinces within the third quarter of 2021. Proportionally, the most important will increase had been in Saskatchewan (+82.7%; +9,200), Quebec (+73.1%; +100,500) and Ontario (+64.5%; +132,900), whereas Nova Scotia (+35.2%; +4,700) had the smallest enhance.
Job vacancies elevated between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021 in 18 of the 20 main industrial sectors. 5 sectors accounted for two-thirds (67.6%) of the rise: lodging and meals providers (+86,400; +112.8%), well being care and social help (+52,100; +78.8%), building (+34,300; +83.7%), retail commerce (+32,400; +45.2%), and manufacturing (+31,200; +62.4%).
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and searching, and actual property and rental and leasing had been the one sectors the place vacancies weren’t up within the third quarter in contrast with the identical interval two years earlier.
5 sectors driving progress in job vacancies
5 sectors—health care, building, lodging and meals, retail commerce and manufacturing—were driving the expansion in job vacancies. Will increase in job vacancies can sign quite a few adjustments in labour market situations current in numerous sectors and areas.
Within the well being care and social help sector, job vacancies (118,200) had been up within the third quarter, whereas payroll employment from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls, and Hours had reached its pre-COVID degree in December 2020, indicating that this sector was dealing with challenges together with unmet labour demand within the context of accelerating financial exercise. Previous to the unprecedented calls for positioned on the well being care system by the pandemic, employment within the sector had been rising steadily because the third quarter of 2017, partly the results of an getting old inhabitants. Nurse aides, orderlies and affected person service associates (24,100) in addition to registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (22,800) within the third quarter had been among the many occupations with probably the most vacancies.
Job vacancies in well being care and social help elevated within the third quarter in contrast with the identical interval two years earlier in all provinces, excluding Nova Scotia. The most important proportion will increase had been in Quebec (+117.4%; +20,100), Saskatchewan (+95.0%; +1,200), and British Columbia (+87.4%; +8,100).
In building, job vacancies elevated between the third quarters of 2019 and 2021, whereas payroll employment was little modified, suggesting that elevated vacancies had been due partly to labour market imbalances akin to shortages of particular abilities or geographic mismatches between vacant positions and the employees accessible to fill them. Throughout the sector, the most important two-year will increase had been recorded within the financial areas of Decrease Mainland-Southwest in British Columbia (+5,600) and Toronto (+4,100).
In every of the three different sectors driving the will increase in job vacancies—accommodation and meals providers, retail commerce, and manufacturing—payroll employment was decrease within the third quarter of 2021 than in the identical interval two years earlier. This means that companies had been working to fill vacant positions as they re-opened or as operations resumed in the course of the third quarter of 2021.
Job vacancies in lodging and meals providers accounted for one-quarter (24.7%) of the two-year enhance in general vacancies. The elevated degree of vacancies in summer season 2021 was doubtless on account of a number of components, together with staffing challenges related to the reopening of enterprise within the sector and regular seasonal patterns, as labour demand within the sector usually peaks in the course of the summer season.
Infographic 1

5 sectors account for two-thirds of the rise in job vacancies over the previous two years

Lively listening and demanding pondering abilities stay essential to most job vacancies
Employers search for particular abilities, akin to important pondering and energetic studying, complicated drawback fixing, and technical abilities, to fill their vacancies. Within the third quarter of 2021, energetic listening abilities had been essential to greater than 8 in 10 (83.9%) vacant jobs. Different abilities essential in additional than half of vacancies included talking (73.5%), important pondering (69.0%), studying comprehension (60.8%), social perceptiveness (52.4%) and time administration (51.5%).
Adjustments within the occupations and the abilities related to vacant positions have implications for the flexibility of employers to fill the vacancies. Whereas the general significance of those abilities within the third quarter of 2021 was much like the identical interval two years earlier, demand for sure abilities has shifted in some sectors and areas. Within the building sector in British Columbia, for instance, vacant positions had been extra more likely to require time administration, monitoring and demanding pondering abilities within the third quarter of 2021 than the identical interval two years earlier. This shift was the results of adjustments within the composition of job vacancies by occupation. For instance, whereas the general variety of job vacancies in building in British Columbia elevated by over 80% (+7,800) over two years, vacancies for carpenters elevated 148.6% (+1,900), whereas openings for building trades helpers and labourers elevated at a decrease price (+60.9%, +1,800) than vacancies in building as an entire.
As demand for abilities shifts, the flexibility of employers to search out employees to fill vacant positions is influenced by quite a few components, together with the extent to which positions require specialised abilities. Of the 495 occupations included within the Nationwide Occupation Classification (NOC) for which abilities profiles can be found, 226 require not less than one particular technical ability for the efficiency of the job. For instance, pc programmers and interactive media builders require technical abilities associated to programming and operations evaluation, whereas electricians require technical abilities associated to troubleshooting, repairing and high quality management evaluation. Vacancies within the 226 occupations mixed had been up 56.7% to 242,200 within the third quarter of 2021 in contrast with the identical interval two years earlier, they usually accounted for 25.1% of the entire two-year enhance in job vacancies.
In distinction to occupations requiring particular technical abilities, 40 occupations within the NOC require no technical abilities and 5 or fewer non-technical abilities. Vacancies in these occupations—which embrace meals counter attendants, kitchen helpers and associated assist, building trades helpers and labourers, and light-duty cleaners—increased by 73.7% to 234,600 on a two-year foundation within the third quarter of 2021, and accounted for 28.5% of the all-industries two-year enhance.
Chart 1

Demand for sure abilities elevated in British Columbia building sector

Vacancies enhance extra in low-wage occupations
Vacancies elevated extra in low-wage occupations than in high-wage occupations between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021. Within the third quarter of 2019, the 20% of occupations with lowest common wages (the primary quintile of occupations ranked by 2019 third quarter Labour Power Survey [LFS] common wages) accounted for 35.0% of staff and 48.9% of job vacancies. Within the third quarter of 2021, these similar occupations represented 32.3% of staff and 50.9% of vacancies. In distinction, the 20% of occupations with the very best common wages (the fifth quintile of occupations ranked by 2019 third quarter LFS common wages) represented 9.4% of vacancies within the third quarter of 2021, down 1.1 proportion factors from the identical interval two years earlier.
Chart 2

Job emptiness progress is lowest within the highest-wage occupations

Progress in supplied wages surpasses Client Value Index progress in additional than half of occupations
The record-high job vacancies noticed in latest months has targeted consideration on the extent to which unmet labour demand will contribute to upward stress on wages. JVWS outcomes complement LFS outcomes by shedding gentle on supplied wages, or the hourly wage related to vacant positions.
Between the third quarters of 2019 and 2021, the Client Value Index (CPI) elevated by 4.3%. Progress in common supplied wages exceeded CPI progress over the identical interval in 155 of the 373 occupations within the NOC for which supplied wages had been accessible for each quarters. Amongst these occupations, these which had the most important will increase in job vacancies included building trades helpers and labourers, cooks, retail salespersons, and nurse aides, orderlies and affected person service associates. The common supplied wage elevated 9.7% for these occupations, whereas the common hourly wages of all staff in the identical occupations elevated by 8.4% over the identical interval, based mostly on LFS information. That is in keeping with November LFS outcomes, which confirmed that two-year progress in hourly wages was higher for brand spanking new staff (+10.0%) than for established staff (+6.4%).
Common supplied wage progress was decrease for higher-skill occupations than for lower-skill occupations between the third quarters of 2019 and 2021. On common, supplied hourly wages for the 226 occupations involving not less than one technical ability elevated 8.3% (+$2.00 to $26.00). Compared, the equal enhance for the 40 occupations requiring no technical abilities and 5 or fewer non-technical abilities was 10.0% (+$1.55 to $16.95).
In well being care and different sectors supplied wages differ by occupation
On the sector degree, adjustments in supplied wages replicate a mixture of components, together with the stability between employment and vacancies, in addition to the composition of vacancies by occupation.
In well being care and social help, the common supplied hourly wage for all vacant positions rose 4.9% (+$1.15 to $24.75) between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021. There have been will increase of 8.6% (+$1.60 to $20.25) amongst helping occupations in assist of well being providers and 2.8% (+$0.85 to $31.65) amongst skilled occupations in nursing on this sector. The common supplied hourly wage remained nearly unchanged amongst technical occupations in well being (+$0.45 to $28.00) and was down 11.0% amongst skilled occupations in well being excluding nursing (-$4.65 to $37.30). These occupational teams accounted for 62.7% of the rise in vacancies throughout the well being care and social help sector over the two-year interval.
Over the identical interval, within the lodging and meals providers sector, the common supplied hourly wage for all vacancies rose 6.6% (+$0.95 to $15.30), together with will increase of 7.6% (+$1.05 to $14.85) amongst service assist and different service occupations, 7.2% (+$1.15 to $16.85) amongst service supervisors and specialised service occupations, and 5.8% (+$0.75 to $13.90) amongst service representatives and different buyer and private providers on this sector. These occupational teams accounted for 91.8% of the rise in job vacancies inside lodging and meals providers sector over the interval.
Wanting forward
For the reason that finish of the third quarter of 2021, the LFS has recorded enhancing labour market situations. In October and November, whole employment elevated by a mixed 185,000 (+1.0%), whereas the unemployment price fell to 6.0% and was inside 0.3 proportion factors of its pre-COVID-19 February 2020 degree (5.7%).
Statistics Canada will proceed to observe the extent of unmet labour demand via month-to-month JVWS outcomes. October 2021 outcomes shall be launched on December 23, 2021. Detailed info for the fourth quarter of 2021, together with info on the occupational and abilities profile of vacancies, and adjustments in supplied wages, shall be launched on March 22, 2022.
Notice to readers
The Job Emptiness and Wage Survey (JVWS) offers complete information on job vacancies and supplied wages by industrial sector and detailed occupation for Canada and the provinces, territories and financial areas. Job emptiness and supplied wage information are launched quarterly.
Estimates by sector are based mostly on the North American Business Classification System 2017 Model 3.0. Estimates by geographical space are based mostly on the Commonplace Geographical Classification 2016. Estimates by occupation replicate the Nationwide Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 Model 1.3. The NOC is a four-tiered hierarchical construction of occupational teams with successive ranges of disaggregation. The construction is as follows: (1) 10 broad occupational classes, additionally known as one-digit NOC; (2) 40 main teams, additionally known as two-digit NOC; (3) 140 minor teams, additionally known as three-digit NOC; and (4) 500 unit teams, additionally known as four-digit NOC.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, information assortment for the JVWS was suspended for the second and third quarters of 2020.
In January 2020, a brand new digital questionnaire was launched. Minor adjustments to the content material are documented in the newest Information to the Job Emptiness and Wage Survey (
75-514-G).Starting with the reference interval of October 2020, preliminary month-to-month estimates from the JVWS are launched on a month-to-month foundation alongside the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours launch. These estimates present info on the variety of job vacancies and the job emptiness price by province and by industrial sector.
The goal inhabitants of the survey contains all enterprise areas in Canada, excluding these concerned primarily in spiritual organizations and personal households. Federal, provincial and territorial, in addition to worldwide and different extra-territorial public administrations are additionally excluded from the survey.
JVWS information usually are not seasonally adjusted. Subsequently, quarter-to-quarter comparisons must be interpreted with warning as they might replicate seasonal actions.
This evaluation focuses on variations between estimates which might be statistically important on the 68% confidence degree.
Occupation quintiles by common wage and associated employment figures are based mostly on the Labour Power Survey.
Expertise information was derived for occupations on the four-digit Nationwide Occupation Classification (NOC) degree utilizing occupational ability rankings obtained from the Occupational Data Community (O*NET), a free U.S. on-line database. A crosswalk was developed to transform the O*NET information to the NOC 2016, model 1.3.
For extra info on the O*NET 26.0 Database by the U.S. Division of Labor, Employment and Coaching Administration (USDOL/ETA), please seek the advice of O*NET Useful resource Centre. Used underneath the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Subsequent launch
Information on job vacancies from the JVWS for the fourth quarter of 2021 shall be launched on March 22, 2022.
Merchandise
Extra details about the ideas and use of knowledge from the Job Emptiness and Wage Survey is obtainable on-line within the Information to the Job Emptiness and Wage Survey (
75-514-G).The product “Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and financial area, unadjusted for seasonality” (
71-607-X) can also be accessible. This dynamic net software offers entry to Statistics Canada’s labour market indicators for Canada, by province, territory and financial area, and permits customers to view a snapshot of key labour market indicators, observe geographical rankings for every indicator utilizing an interactive map and desk, and simply copy information into different packages.Contact info
For extra info, or to investigate in regards to the ideas, strategies or information high quality of this launch, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; [email protected]) or Media Relations ([email protected]).