According to the latest data released by Statistics Canada, March 2024 exhibited notable shifts in payroll employment, average earnings, and job vacancies, reflecting various trends and dynamics within the Canadian labour market.
In March 2024, Canada experienced an increase in payroll employment, adding 51,400 jobs (+0.3%), marking the third consecutive month of gains. This followed a more modest rise of 14,600 jobs (+0.1%) in February. Year-over-year, payroll employment grew by 232,100 positions (+1.3%). The healthcare and social assistance sector led the monthly increases, adding 11,700 jobs (+0.5%), followed by educational services (+8,100; +0.6%), manufacturing (+7,300; +0.5%), construction (+2,600; +0.2%), and wholesale trade (+2,600; +0.3%). Retail trade was the only sector to see a decline, losing 2,400 jobs (-0.1%).
The persistent upward trend in healthcare and social assistance, with a cumulative gain of 144,300 jobs (+6.5%) since September 2022, underscores the sector’s growing demand. Notably, general medical and surgical hospitals, nursing care facilities, and home health care services contributed significantly to this growth.
The educational services sector saw a rise in payroll employment by 8,100 jobs (+0.6%) in March, continuing its positive trend from February. Over the year, the sector added 31,600 jobs (+2.2%), primarily in elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and universities.
Manufacturing employment rebounded with a gain of 7,300 jobs (+0.5%) in March, offsetting a loss in February. However, the sector remains below its June 2023 peak. Chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, and non-metallic mineral product manufacturing were the primary drivers of this monthly increase.
The construction sector also showed growth, with a rise of 2,600 jobs (+0.2%) in March, continuing the momentum from February. Year-over-year, the sector increased by 16,100 jobs (+1.4%). Gains were seen in non-residential building construction, highway, street and bridge construction, and other specialty trade contractors, though residential building construction saw a slight decline.
Average weekly earnings remained relatively stable in March at $1,236, with a modest month-over-month change. However, there was a notable year-over-year increase of 4.2%, indicating overall wage growth. Transportation and warehousing, as well as retail trade, recorded the largest monthly earnings increases.
Average weekly hours worked saw a slight year-over-year rise of 0.9%, reaching 33.5 hours. This stability in working hours reflects consistent labour demand across various sectors.
Job vacancies in Canada experienced a significant decline in March, dropping by 40,600 positions (-6.2%) to a total of 610,700, marking the largest decrease since September 2023. Year-over-year, vacancies fell by 192,800 positions (-24.0%). This decrease reflects a broader downward trend in job vacancies observed since mid-2022.
The job vacancy rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since March 2020, while the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio rose to 2.2, the highest since May 2021. This shift was driven by both a decrease in job vacancies and an increase in the number of unemployed persons.
Significant declines in job vacancies were noted in construction, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and finance and insurance sectors. Conversely, information and cultural industries, and educational services saw increases in vacancies.
Regionally, job vacancies decreased notably in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, while Prince Edward Island saw an increase. Year-over-year, the job vacancy rate declined in all provinces, with Quebec and British Columbia experiencing the most substantial drops.