Average wages outpace inflation but job vacancies fall 15.4% across key Canadian sectors
Average wages in Canada rose faster than inflation in April, according to Statistics Canada, as job vacancies declined to their lowest rate since 2017.
The average weekly earnings reached $1,297—up 4.4 percent from the previous year—outpacing the 1.7 percent rise in inflation over the same period, as reported by BNN Bloomberg on June 27.
According to Statistics Canada’s April payroll data, this wage growth came alongside a 0.8 percent month-over-month increase in earnings.
Average hours worked remained steady at 33.5 hours, suggesting the gains stemmed primarily from pay rather than extended labour.
While wages advanced, the national job vacancy rate fell to 2.8 percent—the lowest since October 2017—driven by a monthly drop of 16,800 unfilled positions, bringing the total to 501,300.
As per Statistics Canada, year-over-year, job vacancies declined by 91,400 or 15.4 percent.
The sectors with the sharpest declines in open positions included health care and social assistance (-23.9 percent), accommodation and food services (-21.7 percent), and construction (-13.8 percent).
In terms of regional impact, vacancies fell most significantly in British Columbia (-8.5 percent), Alberta (-9.4 percent), New Brunswick (-16.8 percent), and Newfoundland and Labrador (-26.3 percent).
The provinces with the lowest job vacancy rates in April were Newfoundland and Labrador (2.1 percent) and New Brunswick (2.3 percent), as noted by Statistics Canada.
Job vacancy rates were highest in sectors like health care and social assistance (4.1 percent) and accommodation and food services (4.0 percent).
However, overall demand for labour softened as the ratio of unemployed persons per vacancy rose to 3.1—up from 2.9 in March.
The Labour Force Survey reported that the national unemployment rate increased to 6.9 percent from 6.2 percent a year earlier.
Despite flat overall payroll employment (-6,200), April saw significant sector-level shifts.
According to Statistics Canada, the manufacturing sector led losses, down 7,300 jobs, largely due to declines in transportation equipment, plastics, and machinery subsectors. Accommodation and food services (-5,800) and retail trade (-5,000) also saw continued contraction.
Meanwhile, employment in health care and social assistance rose by 10,800 positions, rebounding from losses in March.
This marks a continuing upward trend since August 2022, with 230,000 jobs added over that period. Public administration also posted gains (+6,200), driven by growth in local and regional government jobs.
Industries with the highest earnings continued to widen the gap.
As reported by BNN Bloomberg, weekly pay in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction stood at $2,492—nearly five times higher than the lowest-paid sector, accommodation and food services, which averaged $521.16 per week.
Information and cultural industries also posted double-digit year-over-year wage growth (just over 10 percent), reaching $1,875 weekly.
Economist David Macdonald of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said the disconnect between real wage growth and household sentiment stems from elevated costs for essentials.
He noted that while real wages have risen since 2023, “people are upset that prices are going up on things like regular everyday purchases like food,” adding that economic uncertainty tied to geopolitical tensions may further cloud expectations.
