Work in Canada
Job Vacancies Declined for the Third Consecutive Month in Canada
Canada experienced another successful month for post-COVID recovery efforts in December 2022. The total number of open posts decreased to 848,000, while 91,400 positions were filled in the final month of 2022, increased payroll employment.
In spite of labour shortages, certain industries continued to have concentrated and long-lasting unfilled positions. This is despite the Canadian labour market making efforts towards expanding payroll employment and reducing job vacancies. Since these factors have had little of an impact on the total number of open posts from November 849,200 to December of 2022, many in-demand positions remain unfilled and labour shortages are a major issue.
In Which Sectors Did Vacancies Persist Despite An Increase in Employment?
The following five sectors made about 55% of all job openings in Canada:
| Sectors | No. of Vacancies |
| Health care and social assistance | 149,800 |
| Accommodation and food services | 108,000 |
| Retail trade | 100,200 |
| Construction | 77,400 |
| Manufacturing | 71,700 |
| Professional scientific and technical services | 58,100 |
Health Care and Social Service Sector
After four straight months of payroll employment growth, issues for this industry resurfaced in December as vacancies rose by 18,200 positions. The 19,400 new employees employed in November have almost entirely been offset by this increase in open positions. In this industry, there were 149,800 open positions overall as of December 2022. In addition, the health care and social support sector has experienced no change in the overall number of openings, despite a net rise of 190,600 jobs in the previous two years. This is a clear indication of the demand for these people in Canada.
Construction Sector
Canada’s construction industry has also experienced steady increases in payroll employment for the past four months, but it continues to struggle with high unemployment. The number of vacancies in this sector has increased from December 2021 (61,800) and remained relatively unchanged from November 2022 (79,000 vacancies).
The Most Hiring Sectors in December
The following sectors witnessed an increase in hiring in Canada in December, 2022.
- Health care and social assistance with 26,500 vacancies;
- Finance and insurance with over 13,800 jobs; and
- Construction having 11,500 jobs vacant at that time
Two of the three industries (healthcare and construction) that led payroll employment growth in December also rank first in Canada for job openings. Also, the majority of the increases in employment for each of these sectors were represented by payroll employment. In order to make sure that Canada has the necessary number of people in that area, the government has not only invested in the healthcare and social assistance sector but has also backed it with the force of advantageous immigration laws.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently removed barriers for physicians to apply for Express Entry, increased the ability of foreign trained medical professionals to become accredited and work in the country, and halved the amount of work experience needed for carers to qualify for permanent residence. These changes were made in response to the growing labour shortage.
Canadian Provinces With the Most Number of Jobs in Hiring
The following provinces saw the greatest gains in payroll employment in December:
| Canadian Province | No. of Jobs |
| Quebec | 8,800 |
| Ontario | 5,600 |
| British Columbia | 4,600 |
| Alberta | 3,800 |
In addition, payroll employment in Newfoundland and Labrador showed a modest decline which is -100 jobs. This follows a productive November in which the province was able to reduce the number of open positions by more than a third.
