Payroll Employment and Job Vacancies in Canada for July 2024

In July 2024, payroll employment in Canada increased by 32,800 jobs, a 0.2% rise from the previous month. This follows a decline of 22,900 jobs in June. Year-over-year, payroll employment rose by 157,700 jobs, or 0.9%. Job vacancies, however, fell by 22,400 positions, marking a 4.1% decrease to 526,900 vacancies. This is the third consecutive monthly decline in job vacancies, which are now down by nearly half from their peak in May 2022.

The health care and social assistance sector saw the largest increase in payroll employment, adding 17,600 jobs, a 0.7% rise. Public administration and retail trade also saw gains, with increases of 8,000 jobs (0.6%) and 2,300 jobs (0.1%), respectively. Conversely, the manufacturing sector experienced the largest decline, losing 6,200 jobs, a 0.4% decrease. Construction and administrative and support services also saw declines, losing 2,400 jobs each.

Average weekly earnings in July 2024 were $1,268, a 1.0% increase from the previous month and a 4.5% increase year-over-year. Average weekly hours worked remained relatively unchanged from the previous month but increased by 0.6% year-over-year to 33.5 hours.

The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio increased for the fifth consecutive month, with 2.7 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in July 2024, up from 2.6 in June. This increase reflects the decrease in job vacancies.