Job Vacancies at Lowest Level Since 2017: Statistics Canada

In May, Canada had the lowest level of job vacancies in eight years as the number of jobs dropped in several industries, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.

Job vacancies dropped by 4.1 percent (20,400), StatCan said in a July 31 release. It was the lowest rate since October 2017.

On a year-over-year basis, the number of available jobs dropped by 15.8 percent to 89,700, StatCan said.

The ratio of unemployed individuals to vacant jobs in May was 3.3, StatCan said.

That number was up slightly from 3.1 in April. It was the highest unemployment-to-job vacancy rate since January 2017, excluding 2020 and 2021.

On a year-over-year basis, the ratio was up 0.9 percent, as there was an increase in the number of unemployed people, coupled with a decrease in job vacancies, the agency said. The unemployment rate increased from 6.3 percent to 7 percent over the same period, according to the Labour Force Survey.

The job vacancy rate, which is the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand, declined slightly to 2.7 percent in May, compared to 2.8 percent in April. In May 2024, that number was 3.2 percent.

Industries that saw the largest decrease in job vacancies included construction (13.5 percent or 5,400); professional, scientific, and technical services (10.8 percent or 4,100); mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction (19.2 percent, 900); and management of companies and enterprises (18 percent, 400).

The job vacancies in Canada’s construction industry was the lowest level recorded since November 2019, StatCan said.

The professional, scientific, and technical services sector saw its first decrease in job vacancies since December 2024, according to the report. The number of vacancies in the sector was the lowest since May 2018.

StatCan said that job vacancies were up in finance and insurance (19 percent, 3,400) and wholesale trade (16.3 percent, 2,800). It said the increases “partially offset” declines experienced in April.

Quebec was the only province to record a “significant decrease” in the number of job vacancies, the report said. The province saw a 10.7 percent drop or 12,800 vacancies.

“In other provinces, the number of vacancies was little changed in May,” StatCan said.

The year-over-year job vacancy rate dropped in six provinces, with the largest decrease being in Saskatchewan (1.2 percentage points to 3 percent), followed by Alberta (0.8 percentage points to 2.7 percent) and B.C. (0.7 percentage points to 3.1 percent).

Newfoundland and Labrador saw the highest unemployment to job vacancy ratio at 6.8. That number was 5.4 in May 2024.

Ontario saw the largest year-over-year increase in the unemployment to job vacancy ratio in May 2025 to 4.1. It was followed by Alberta at 3.5, Quebec at 2.7, and B.C. at 2.6.

The ratio was the lowest in Saskatchewan at 1.8.