TORONTO – Canada’s private sector job vacancy rate is stable but still high, according to a new report.
The latest Help Wanted report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) states the Canadian private sector job vacancy rate has maintained a historic high level of 3.2 per cent during the third quarter of 2019.
A total of 433,000 private sector jobs were vacant for at least four months, approximately 1,500 more jobs than Q2 2019 and 15,000 more than the previous year. The construction industry had the second highest vacancy rate at 4.7 per cent, with the personal services industry in first place at 4.9 per cent. Hospitality, agriculture and information industries were the other top sectors. Natural resources had the lowest vacancy rate at 1.8 per cent.
“This is now the fifth consecutive quarter in which we’re seeing a record high vacancy rate. The smallest of firms, those with fewer than five employees, are having the hardest time recruiting workers, with a vacancy rate as high at 5.4 per cent. Those unfilled positions add up overtime, bringing down firms’ productivity levels and ultimately their ability to be profitable and to grow,” CFIB chief economist Ted Mallett said.
Quebec at 4.0 per cent and British Columbia at 3.8 per cent remain Canada’s tightest labour markets with Ontario remaining at the national average of 3.2 per cent. Newfoundland and Labrador at 2.3 per cent showed the biggest vacancy rate increase with a 0.2 per cent gain. Manitoba (2.6 per cent), Saskatchewan (2.3 per cent) and Alberta (2.2 per cent) all registered 0.1 per cent rate increases.
There was no movement in the last quarter for New Brunswick (3 per cent) and Nova Scotia (2.4 per cent), and Prince Edward Island had the lowest vacancy rate at 1.9 per cent.
The entire report can be read here.
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