Total labour demand ticked up in the second quarter as payrolls expanded, and job vacancies held steady, according to data from Statistics Canada.
On Tuesday, the national statistical agency reported that labour demand was up by 0.3% in the second quarter, driven almost entirely by an increase in payroll employment. On a year-over-year basis, payrolls were up 1% — an increase of 178,000 workers — and total labour demand rose 1% too (up 181,000).
At the same time, the number of unfilled jobs held steady — both for the second quarter and year over year — at just over half a million (510,200 vacancies). The job vacancy rate was stable too at 2.8%.
Statistics Canada noted that there were roughly three unemployed workers for each vacant job in the second quarter, which was unchanged from the first quarter, and down slightly from the same quarter a year ago.
Additionally, the agency reported that long-term vacancies — unfilled jobs that remain open after more than 90 days of recruiting — were down to 25.9% from 28% in the second quarter.
This decrease in long-term vacancies “suggests that employers have had fewer difficulties filling available positions compared with a year earlier,” it said.
Against that backdrop, wage growth slowed slightly in the second quarter too, with the average offered hourly wage for vacant positions rising by 2% (on a year-over-year basis) in the second quarter, down from 2.2% in the first quarter. The rise in the average offered hourly wage has decelerated since hitting a high of 7.6% in the third quarter of 2024, the agency said.