In March, payroll employment fell for the second straight month while average weekly earnings continued to climb.
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits dropped by 54,100 positions in March, a 0.3 per cent decline from February. It follows a similar downward trend to the previous month, when 40,200 jobs were lost. Despite the declines, employment was still slightly higher year-over-year, with 32,800 more payroll jobs than in March 2024, representing a modest 0.2 per cent increase.
While employers trimmed staff across multiple sectors, wages saw a healthy gain. The average weekly earnings rose 4.3 per cent from the same period last year, reaching $1,290.80 in March. However, every month, wages remained mostly unchanged. Average hours worked also held steady at 33.5 hours per week.
Employment losses in March were widespread, with ten of the twenty sectors posting declines. Educational services led the contraction with a drop of 10,400 jobs (-0.7%), followed closely by health care and social assistance (-9,500; -0.4%), and accommodation and food services (-8,400; -0.7%). The retail and wholesale trade sectors also contributed significantly to the monthly job losses.
Conversely, a handful of industries added positions. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas posted a gain of 2,500 jobs (+1.1%), while arts, entertainment and recreation rose by 1,800 (+0.5%). The smallest increase came from management of companies and enterprises (+900; +0.7%).
In the education sector, March marked the first noticeable drop in payroll jobs since July 2024. Still, year-over-year figures show a slight increase of 0.5 per cent, driven largely by growth in elementary and secondary schools. That growth was partially offset by job losses in post-secondary institutions, including universities (-8,100) and colleges (-3,100).
In health care, a sector that had steadily expanded since mid-2022, payroll employment declined for the first time in nine months. The bulk of the loss was concentrated in Quebec, which saw 9,000 fewer payroll positions (-1.6%).
Accommodation and food services posted its third straight monthly loss, shedding 8,400 jobs in March. That brings the total decline to over 22,000 since January, driven mainly by reduced employment at full-service and limited-service restaurants. Compared to last year, the sector is down 1.6 per cent.
The retail sector continued a downward trend that began over two years ago, with payroll employment shrinking by another 8,400 jobs in March. Since February 2023, the sector has lost over 53,000 jobs.
Job vacancies remained relatively unchanged at 529,700 in March, marking the seventh consecutive month of stability. Yet, on a year-over-year basis, there were 72,800 fewer vacancies, a 12.1 per cent drop.
The national job vacancy rate ticked up slightly to 3.0 per cent, but the competition for available jobs also grew. There were 2.9 unemployed people for every job vacancy in March, up from 2.8 the month before and 2.2 a year earlier.
Total labour demand—which includes both filled and vacant positions—fell by 64,400 (-0.4%) in March. However, it was still up slightly from the same time last year.
Alberta recorded the largest increase in job vacancies, up by 7,500 to reach 69,800. Manitoba, on the other hand, saw a notable decline of 3,700 vacancies, dropping to 18,400. British Columbia had the highest vacancy rate among provinces at 3.5 per cent, followed by Alberta at 3.2 per cent.
Sector-wise, transportation and warehousing (+3,300), utilities (+800), and management of companies and enterprises (+300) recorded monthly increases in vacancies. Meanwhile, retail trade saw the steepest drop, with vacancies falling by 4,400 to 48,200, its lowest level since late 2024.
On a year-over-year basis, 11 of the 20 sectors reported fewer job openings, with the most significant declines in health care and social assistance (-17,600), retail trade (-11,500), and transportation and warehousing (-8,200). Nonetheless, vacancies in health care remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels.