The number of vacancies reaches a new high

The number of job vacancies in Quebec exceeded the number of unemployed during the month of June. Nationally, job vacancies reached 1,037,900 in June, up 3.2% from the peak seen in May.

This is the third consecutive monthly increase in the country, according to Statistics Canada data released Thursday.

The job vacancy rate in Canada was 5.9% in June, matching the record high reached in September 2021 and up from the 4.9% rate recorded in June 2021.

“The unemployment-to-vacancy ratio was at a record low of 1.0 in June, meaning there was one person unemployed for every job vacancy,” Statistics Canada noted, noting that this ratio was from 1.9 in June 2021.

Payroll employment in almost all service sectors increased in June, particularly educational services (+26,400; +1.9%), accommodation and food services (+16,600; + 1.3%), professional, scientific and technical services (+8800; +0.8%) and health care and social assistance (+8400; +0.4%).

The public administration sector (-3,900; -0.3%) was the only service sector to post a decline in June.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of job vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed in four provinces in June.

The unemployment-to-vacancy ratio was notably below 1.0 in Quebec (0.6), British Columbia (0.7), Saskatchewan (0.8) and Manitoba (0.9). Newfoundland and Labrador (2.7) continued to post the highest unemployment-to-job vacancies ratio among the provinces.

The federal agency also pointed out that pay rose in all provinces in June, compared with a year earlier. Average weekly earnings rose 3.5% to $1,159 in June, compared to a year earlier, and its growth exceeded that observed in May (+2.5%).

“The 12-month growth in average weekly earnings has been on an upward trend since June 2021,” said Statistics Canada.

The largest increases in 12-month average weekly earnings were seen in the Yukon (+6.6% to $1,360) and New Brunswick (+5.5% to $1,067). In Quebec, it went from $1,060.95 to $1,105.28 in one year (+4.2%). Ontario posted a 2.7% increase in weekly wages (to $1,180), while Prince Edward Island recorded the smallest change (1.8%).